Coming off the heels of their four-game sweep of UCSB, the Oregon baseball team traveled to Corvallis to begin a three-game set against Oregon State on Friday.
The Ducks took on a 10-1 Beavers team that sent their best pitcher Kevin Abel to the mound. Abel was a hero for Oregon State when they won the College World Series in 2018, and came into Friday’s outing with a 0.57 ERA. He hit the ground running, striking out Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews in a perfect first inning.
Robert Ahlstrom took the mound for the Ducks after throwing three scoreless innings in the UCSB series.
The Ducks drew first blood, as Aaron Zavala walked to lead off the second inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came home on a Josh Kasevich single. Sam Novitske followed with a single, and Abel hit Bryce Boettcher to load the bases with no outs.
Abel recorded two consecutive outs and was an inch away from getting out of it with just the one run, but Tanner Smith smashed a three-run triple to the right-center field gap to give the Ducks an early 4-0 lead.
Ahlstrom allowed only a one-out single in each of the first and second innings to hold the lead in place.
Abel bounced back in the third, striking out Matthews and Zavala while Kasevich was caught stealing after drawing a walk. The Ducks stranded two more runners in the fourth as Abel reached eight strikeouts through four innings.
Ahlstrom continued to mow through the Beavers’ lineup, throwing just 45 pitches through four scoreless innings.
In his third at-bat in the fifth, Yovan picked up where he left off last weekend, crushing a solo homer to make it 5-0. Matthews then doubled, chasing Abel after 100 pitches.
The Ducks added two more runs in the sixth with RBI singles from Smith and Yovan.
Ahlstrom struck out four in the next three innings, bringing his total to 10 through seven scoreless innings. He dominated the Beavers, allowing just three hits and no walks. The 10 strikeouts was his career high.
Hunter Breault relieved Ahlstrom and pitched a scoreless eighth, helped out by a diving catch from center fielder Bryce Boettcher.
Robby Ashford came in for Boettcher in the ninth and made a great catch of his own near the warning track. The Ducks’ improved outfield defense has been huge for them this season.
Lefty Nico Tellache recorded the final outs for Oregon in a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout.
The Ducks’ victory snaps the Beavers’ 10-game winning streak. Oregon now boasts a five-game winning streak, all against top-25 teams.
The two teams will be back at it on Saturday at 1:35 p.m. for game two of the three-game slate.