With the bases loaded, no outs and down by two runs, Oregon was poised to take the lead from Colorado State in the top of the eighth inning Sunday night at the National Club Baseball Association World Series in Niles, Ohio.
The Rams went to their bullpen, bringing out two relievers before relying on their ace, All-American Thomas Ahrens, to stop the Ducks’ rally.
Ahrens struck out catcher Brent Sasser and then All-American third baseman Travis Chock hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.
“They finally respect us,”
Oregon coach Bradley Ficek said. “They treated it as a must-win game. They knew they needed to win that game by bringing out Ahrens.”
Colorado State, which plays No. 1 seed Penn State for the championship today at 4 p.m., won 5-3 and eliminated Oregon from the tournament.
Oregon finished the World Series with a record of 2-2, bringing its overall record for the season to 31-8, the most wins ever for the team.
After their opening loss to the University of Wisconsin last Wednesday morning, monstrous rain and thunderstorms blanketed the entire state of Ohio, threatening to cancel the remaining games. Oregon was forced to play its second game, against the University of Dayton, three times because the game was postponed and restarted twice.
The first game was played Thursday night and was called due to lightning and rain during the top of the fourth inning with Oregon leading 9-0.
The second game was called Friday morning when the Ducks were batting with a 2-0 lead when heavy rain soaked the entire field.
In accordance with NCBA bylaws, because neither game finished the fifth inning, each game had to be restarted, causing a great deal of irritation among the Oregon players. Each game got off to a promising start but ended up counting for nothing.
“It’s totally frustrating,” Ficek said. “You get out for a baseball game and come out on fire, and it’s all for naught. It’s emotionally and physically draining.”
Nick Hall started the second game throwing one inning before the game was called. He then started the game the next day, already fatigued from having to warm up and sit down several times.
“I’m not going to lie – I was pretty tired,” Hall said.
The weariness didn’t show as Hall threw five innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out two.
Bloop hits allowed Dayton to score two runs off Hall in the fifth inning, taking a 2-1 lead. Oregon answered with a run in the bottom of the inning and then two in the sixth thanks to first baseman Travis Brown’s RBI single.
Wataru Akaoka relieved Hall and threw three scoreless innings, striking out five. Ficek claims Akaoka’s pitches were better than they have ever been.
“His stuff had been electric lately,” Ficek said. “His curveball-slash-slider, I don’t know what you call it because it moves so much, has just been unstoppable.”
All-American reliever Greg Wells entered the game with a 4-2 lead, the same score as he came in against Wisconsin.
Wells retired the side, with the last out coming on a back-handed stop, long throw across the diamond by Chock, earning the save and sending the Dayton Flyers packing. Oregon won the game 4-2.
“I’ve always wanted to try and do that play,” Chock said. “It was a good time to do it because you always want the ball on the last play.”
The Ducks faced the Wisconsin Badgers for the second time in the series Sunday, beating them 9-1.
“It felt good only because we should have beat them the first time,” reliever Tim Hegdahl said. “We’re a better team than they are.”
Oregon proved that by scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single by shortstop Scott Marchione.
Starting pitcher Bryan Hansen threw seven innings, surrendering one run, two hits and one walk while striking out five.
The Ducks also rallied in the fourth inning, scoring four runs capped by a two-run double by second baseman Marcus Denney.
After beating Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, the Ducks had to play Colorado State in the evening because many of the games were pushed back because the storms the previous days.
Jay Tlougan started the game and gave up five runs to the Rams. He was relieved by Wells, who gave up three hits before recording two outs.
The Ducks then brought in their ace, Game 1 starter and All-American Peter Phillips, who struck out the side in the seventh inning.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, they were never able to get a lead for Phillips as Oregon scored two runs in the eighth inning, but was shut down once Ahrens entered the game.
After the game, many of the players shed tears, particularly the seniors who were playing in their last game.
“It’s kind of surreal when you look at the field and realize that you’ve been playing for 17 years, and now it’s over,” Hedgahl said. “I got choked up.”