The weather took a turn for the worse Sunday and the Ducks’ fortunes went with it, as the Fresno State Bulldogs cruised to a comfortable 10-3 victory in front of 2,392 rain-soaked fans at PK Park to avoid the series sweep.
“That’s a good team, and good teams get up off the ground and do something about it,” said Oregon head coach George Horton.
Oregon (3-3) struck first, scoring once in the bottom of the second inning on two Bulldog errors for a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning the bats of the defending national champions finally awoke, after scoring just once in the previous 20 innings of baseball, to hang six runs on Oregon starting junior pitcher Ben Whitmore, who would pitch just one batter into the fourth inning before giving way to the bullpen.
Whitmore (0-2) retired the first six batters he faced in the game, four by strikeout, then allowed the six runs on four singles, a walk and a three-run shot over the right field wall by Bulldog junior third baseman Tom Mendonca in the third.
“They’re known nationally for their sticks,” said Oregon junior center fielder Curtis Raulinaitis. “It was just a matter of time before they got hot and it happened today.”
Oregon gave up two more in the fourth on two doubles and a single for an 8-1 deficit, then got one back in the bottom of the sixth as freshman shortstop KC Serna led off with a double and scored two batters later on a double by junior infielder Eddy Rodriguez.
Fresno State (3-4) tacked on two more as Mendonca went deep to right again in the ninth, this time off Oregon sophomore closer Drew Gagnier, for a 10-2 Bulldog lead and the last two of his game-high five RBIs.
Redshirt freshman and Eugene native Antony Kreitz led off the Duck ninth by smashing Taylor Garrison’s 3-2 fastball over the left field fence for the first Duck home run in PK Park in his first plate appearance of the season.
“It was awesome to be able to do that … and in front of my hometown crowd,” Kreitz said.
In Friday’s home opener, Oregon defeated Fresno State 1-0 behind eight shutout innings by freshman southpaw Tyler Anderson and a pinch-hit walk-off RBI single by senior infielder Andrew Schmidt.
Anderson (1-0) threw 118 pitches in his PK Park debut, striking out five and scattering six hits and two walks over his eight innings of scoreless baseball. Junior lefty Ryan Fleckenstein came to the mound in relief in the ninth and sent the Bulldogs down in order to set up the Ducks’ ninth-inning rally.
After groundouts by Serna and sophomore designated hitter Mitch Karraker, Rodriguez ripped a single up the middle to keep the Ducks’ final at-bat alive. Next up was Oregon’s RBI leader, junior right fielder Jett Hart, who worked to a full count before placing a soft line drive in shallow right field for a single that sent Rodriguez around to third base. Hart was 2-for-4 in the game with two singles.
Horton opted for the switch-hitting Schmidt over freshman Darrell Hunter against Bulldog right-handed junior reliever Zach Bischoff and Schmidt delivered, slapping a 3-2 slider into right field to drive in Rodriguez for the win, credited to Fleckenstein (1-0).
Oregon won its second game over the Bulldogs on Saturday, this time a 7-1 romp.
Junior right-hander Erik Stavert (1-1) earned the win for Oregon on 6 1/3 innings of work in which he struck out five Bulldogs while surrendering one run on six hits and two walks.
Oregon took control of the game in the bottom of the third, sending Bulldog junior starting pitcher Sean Bonesteele (0-2) to the showers early as it pushed across three runs on three singles, two walks and a sacrifice bunt.
The key hit in the inning was a two-RBI single from freshman third baseman Dylan Gavin, who came into the game still seeking his first hit and went 2-for-3 in the game with two RBI and a run scored.
Freshman infielder Danny Pulfer and senior outfielder Caleb Tommasini also drove in two runs each, and Karrker added one by following Raulinaitis’ leadoff triple in the sixth with a groundball out to second that brought in the run.
The Ducks head to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies at 5 p.m. Tuesday and at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“That’s the good news,” Horton said after dropping the series finale Sunday. “We get to get back on the horse against Washington Tuesday. The Huskies play good baseball. We want to establish some kind of identity against them.”
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