No. 9 Oregon (35-14, 16-8 Pac-12) used a three-run first inning to beat No. 23 Oregon State (30-16, 11-10 Pac-12) 3-2 Tuesday night to even the season series between the two teams. With the win, Oregon improves to 13-4 against top-25 teams.
Joey Housey picked up the win for the Ducks in a staff effort, and Jimmie Sherfy closed the door to complete the six-out save. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=11401&SPSID=94833 all names checked on this link@@The Ducks felt like they played with more intensity from the start than they did in their 7-1 loss to Oregon State on April 24. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205418986@@“Last time we played the Beavers,” Sherfy said, “I don’t think we were 100 percent present, and tonight we definitely were. It feels great to beat them.”Ryon Healy’s two-out triple in the first inning started the Ducks’ rally before Brett Thomas and Ryan Hambright delivered run-scoring singles to extend the lead to 3-0. It was just the hot start they were looking for to set the tone.
“We knew we had to come out with a different attitude and more energy,” said second baseman Aaron Payne. “We just came out and played the game the way we know how to play it, and we ended up winning. ”
The Ducks rode the 3-0 lead into the eighth inning before Oregon State opened the inning with back-to-back singles off Jordan Spencer. With the tying run at the plate, head coach George Horton made the call to bring on his closer for the extra inning. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=11401&SPSID=94834@@
Oregon State continued to threaten in the eighth, however, scoring twice before Sherfy settled down and retired the side. Two, ninth-inning walks moved the tying run into scoring position with two outs before he struck out Oregon State’s Jake Rodriguez with a knee-high slider to punctuate the victory. @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/rodriguez_jake00.html@@
“I think that was my best slider of the night, too,” Sherfy said. “It felt good.”
It was the 13th save of the season for him, He gave up no runs and allowed just one hit in two innings of work, but it was far from uneventful. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205425176@@
“Closers sometimes walk that tightrope,” Horton said. “And most of the time he gets that final out.”
Also entering the game in the eighth inning for the Ducks was J.J. Altobelli, who played the final two frames at shortstop in his first action since suffering a shoulder injury against Arkansas Pine Bluff on April 16. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205414936@@
“That was a little bit of a positive surprise,” Horton said.
He said Altobelli came down for a voluntary throwing session on Monday and was so successful the coaching staff felt he was healthy enough to return to action. Altobelli will start when the Ducks open their final home Pac-12 series this Saturday against USC.
“It went so good that we didn’t feel like it was any kind of medical harm to go ahead and insert him,” Horton said. “Looks like we’ll have him from here on in — knock on wood.”
Tommy Thorpe made his first career start for the Ducks and gave up just one hit in four innings of work. The Ducks usual set-up man struck out three and surrendered just one walk. He finished off his night by retiring eight straight Oregon State batters after Ryan Gorton’s leadoff single in the second. @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/gorton_ryan00.html@@
“Tommy’s been good for us,” Horton said. “We just put him in a different position to get a good start as opposed to the last time we played against Oregon State.”
Healy and Hambright — who also had two RBIs, including the eventual winning run — led the Ducks offensively with two hits each. Ryan Barnes had Oregon State’s only multihit performance. @@box score in PDF http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205425176@@
The Ducks and Beavers will conclude the 2012 Civil War series with three games in Corvallis during the final conference series for both teams.
The Ducks rode the 3-0 lead into the eighth inning before Oregon State opened the inning with back-to-back singles off Jordan Spencer. With the tying run at the plate, head coach George Horton made the call to bring on his closer for the extra inning. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=11401&SPSID=94834@@
Oregon State continued to threaten in the eighth, however, scoring twice before Sherfy settled down and retired the side. Two, ninth-inning walks moved the tying run into scoring position with two outs before he struck out Oregon State’s Jake Rodriguez with a knee-high slider to punctuate the victory. @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/rodriguez_jake00.html@@
“I think that was my best slider of the night, too,” Sherfy said. “It felt good.”
It was the 13th save of the season for him, He gave up no runs and allowed just one hit in two innings of work, but it was far from uneventful. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205425176@@
“Closers sometimes walk that tightrope,” Horton said. “And most of the time he gets that final out.”
Also entering the game in the eighth inning for the Ducks was J.J. Altobelli, who played the final two frames at shortstop in his first action since suffering a shoulder injury against Arkansas Pine Bluff on April 16. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205414936@@
“That was a little bit of a positive surprise,” Horton said.
He said Altobelli came down for a voluntary throwing session on Monday and was so successful the coaching staff felt he was healthy enough to return to action. Altobelli will start when the Ducks open their final home Pac-12 series this Saturday against USC.
“It went so good that we didn’t feel like it was any kind of medical harm to go ahead and insert him,” Horton said. “Looks like we’ll have him from here on in — knock on wood.”
Tommy Thorpe made his first career start for the Ducks and gave up just one hit in four innings of work. The Ducks usual set-up man struck out three and surrendered just one walk. He finished off his night by retiring eight straight Oregon State batters after Ryan Gorton’s leadoff single in the second. @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/gorton_ryan00.html@@
“Tommy’s been good for us,” Horton said. “We just put him in a different position to get a good start as opposed to the last time we played against Oregon State.”
Healy and Hambright — who also had two RBIs, including the eventual winning run — led the Ducks offensively with two hits each. Ryan Barnes had Oregon State’s only multihit performance. @@box score in PDF http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=11401&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205425176@@
The Ducks and Beavers will conclude the 2012 Civil War series with three games in Corvallis during the final conference series for both teams.
