Despite a late rally attempt, the Oregon Ducks lost to the Stanford Cardinal 8-5 at PK Park on Saturday afternoon. The loss extended the team’s losing streak to four games.
The Cardinal jumped out to the early lead with a two-RBI double in the top of the first inning. Jake Bennett cut the deficit in half with a solo home run to make it 2-1 in the bottom of the first. The Ducks brought the game to a tie when Daniel Patzlaff doubled to bring in the tying run.
In the third inning the Cardinal retook the lead and wouldn’t look back. They scored on a double-play fielders choice and then Nico Hoerner launched a home run to left field in the fifth inning to give the Cardinal their two-run cushion back.
In the seventh inning, though, Stanford took a commanding 8-2 lead with a four-run inning.
“We’re giving away stuff, and it’s a sign of a good team that (Stanford’s) taking advantage of it,” Oregon head coach George Horton said.
Taylor Travess led the team in hits, going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Kyle Kasser recorded his 15^th multi-hit game, which leads the team. He finished the day 2-for-5 and had two RBIs.
Connor Zwetsch came on in relief of Mercer with two runners on base. The Cardinal benefited from an RBI-single, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and another RBI-single to get their four runs and put the game nearly out of reach.
“I thought they did a much better job of punishing our mistakes,” coach Horton said. “They crushed it, and we didn’t. I thought we let the pitcher off the hook a lot.”
However, the Ducks wouldn’t go quietly. Facing a five-run deficit entering the ninth inning, the Ducks scored a pair of runs before loading the bases with two outs. Matthew Dyer struck out to end the scoring threat.
“Some of our young guys, as good as they are — and they’re really good — I think they took some young at-bats where it seemed like to me they could have played more into the opposition. But again, I wouldn’t trade those freshman for anybody. They’re great players and great kids.”
The Ducks will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday when the two teams conclude their three-game series at 12 p.m.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445