The Oregon club baseball team lost to Colorado State yesterday in the Club Baseball World Series 14-3, ending its season one game short of the championship pairing.
The Ducks (27-8 overall) started the game quickly, getting runs in the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. But from the fourth to the seventh innings, it was all Colorado State. Starting in the bottom of the fourth inning the Rams scored 14 straight runs to put the game away, including five in the fourth inning, four in the fifth and sixth innings, and one run in the seventh inning.
Starting pitcher Mike Loverro gave up the first four runs before being taken out with one out in the fourth. He gave up four hits and walked seven batters. The normally solid Oregon bullpen couldn’t get the job done, giving up a combined 15 hits and 12 walks. Added to this were eight wild pitches and five errors by the defense – a facet of the Ducks’ game that has rarely hurt them. According to Terada, Colorado State was the best team Oregon had played all year, and no matter what the pitchers threw at them it was hit hard.
“The Rams are a solid ball club. They didn’t make many mistakes, and combined with our errors it was an easy win for them,” Terada said.
Offensively, Oregon had nine hits with Hansen’s home run being the lone extra-base hit. Terada went 2-for-4 from the plate and Hansen went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Terada said it was the great pitching of starter Robert Moller that kept the Ducks in check. Moller went eight innings and gave up all three Oregon runs, but he was locating his pitches well.
The Ducks left only seven runners stranded, but even if every runner had scored, the score would still have favored the Rams. Additionally, the team struck out 12 times, eight more than its season average of four times a game.
The premature ending to the team’s season was disappointing for senior Andrew Murphy, but at the same time he was OK with his final season as a Duck.
“I’ve been better, but sometimes when you play a team on a roll like Colorado State, there’s nothing you can do,” Murphy said.
Murphy said the realization that he had just played his final game as a Duck hadn’t quite sunk in, but over time he’s sure it will.
“It’s tough, but I’ve been playing in my last game of my career since regionals. I’m just proud of my teammates and this season. I went into the last inning just trying to soak everything up,” he said.
Overall, the Ducks are holding their heads high. They realize that there is nothing to hang their heads over, and what they accomplished this season is a great precursor for the inaugural season of varsity baseball at the University.
Terada summed it up, saying that the team will reload for the following season.
“You never like getting blown out in your last game, but we played hard all year long and put up some great numbers. We’ll be ready to come back next year.”