The Oregon club baseball game cemented its foothold atop the league standings this weekend and is now three wins away from attaining the league championship.
Oregon split its four game series against league rival Western Washington and remains one game ahead of the Vikings in the standings.
“Western Washington is the best club competition we’ve faced all year,” Oregon coach Bradley Ficek said. “It’s great because it prepares us for having a tough battle before the regional playoffs.”
The Ducks and Vikings played doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, and Oregon won the second game each day.
Saturday’s first game was an 11-inning marathon in which the Ducks erased a 5-0 deficit in the fifth inning only to suffer a gut-wrenching loss when they were unable to answer the Vikings lone run at the top of the 11th.
“In the middle innings we had the leadoff guy on every time and advanced him; we just couldn’t find a big hit,” Ficek said. “We executed well enough. We just didn’t come through with a clutch hit. It was hard for us to come out in the second game, and we came out a little flat. We lost a tough ball game that we probably should have won a couple of times.”
Starting pitcher Bryan Hansen surrendered five runs in five innings before he was replaced by Gregory Wells, who did not give up a run or hit in his five innings of relief.
Western Washington scored its run in the 11th after Oregon reliever Timothy Hegdahl hit the Vikings’ leadoff batter, who then stole second base and was driven home by a single.
The offense was in greater supply for Oregon during the second game as the Ducks won 7-4. All-American third baseman Travis Chock, who went 8-15 during the four games, continued his hot hitting by providing a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
“He had me 0-2 and I was looking for something off-speed,” Chock said. “He threw an inside change-up and I turned on it.”
Chock jumped on the first pitch he saw in most of his at-bats.
“Now days, I don’t see a lot of fastballs anymore,” Chock said. “So if I can see a fastball, it’s probably gonna be on the first pitch because I get pitched around a lot so I just try to jump on the first one.”
Chock was also one of the defensive standouts; he ran into the fence twice chasing down foul balls.
“I try to make plays for this team as best as I can,” Chock said. “It’s the ball first and my body second.”
Starting pitcher Jay Tlougan earned the win with 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs on five hits.
The Ducks were shut out and limited to two hits in the first game Sunday, and the Vikings won 3-0. Starting pitcher Nick Hall gave up two earned runs on two hits in five innings.
Pitcher Peter Phillips started the final game of the homestand and pitched a complete game to help the Ducks earn a 9-4 victory.
Phillips, who last year was pitching for Pepperdine, used his whole repertoire of pitches to mow down the Vikings’ offense.
“Curveball away, fastball in and knuckle curve with two strikes,” Phillips said of his Sunday pitch selection.
Oregon will have a busy schedule this week. The Ducks play two games at Clackamas Community College on Wednesday and two games against Lane Community College on Thursday.
This weekend will be the end of their regular season schedule when Oregon hosts a three-game series against Seattle University.