It’s hard to label a game in the second weekend of the Pacific-10 Conference season “must-win,” but that’s how Oregon’s 9-0 victory over Washington felt Sunday afternoon at PK Park.
The Ducks, at that point winless in the Pac-10 and losers of five straight, were on the verge of getting swept at home by the mediocre Huskies, forcing Oregon even further into the Pac-10’s cellar.
But eight sparkling shutout innings by Oregon starter Alex Keudell and a rare offensive outburst ensured that didn’t happen.
“My shoulders are down and I’m not going to go yell at my wife and kids when I got home, and my food’s going to taste better,” Oregon head coach George Horton joked.
Although they remain in last place, the Ducks improved to 15-14 (1-5 Pac-10), while the Huskies dropped to 9-20 (2-4 Pac-10).
Oregon went ahead with a two-run second inning, and added to its advantage with a run in the fifth and two in the sixth before blowing the game open with a four-run seventh.
All the while, Keudell was in command, limiting Washington to three hits and two walks over eight nearly flawless frames.
“Alex threw a great game for us when we needed that big time,” Ducks second baseman Danny Pulfer said.
Pulfer was nearly as instrumental in the Ducks’ win. A day after his 12-game hitting streak was snapped, Pulfer went 3 for 5 with four RBI to pace a Ducks offense that put 16 runners on base. Brett Thomas, J.J. Altobelli and Shawn Peterson also had multi-hit days for Oregon, which responded to the adversity of losing back-to-back extra-inning games with one of Oregon’s most complete games of the season.
“I thought this was a must-win game for us,” Keudell said. “It helped that our offense got two in the second and kind of calmed everybody down. Then the offense kept on going, and it was a great day for the offense.”
The same could not have been said about the series’ first two games.
Saturday
Entering play Saturday, Washington starter Adam West was 0-5 with a 4.72 ERA in seven starts.
On paper, it was a prime chance for the Ducks offense to awaken.
Instead of breaking out, Oregon continued to slump. In a 10-inning, 3-0 loss to Washington, the Ducks couldn’t muster much of anything against West and reliever Jeff Brigham.
Oregon starter Madison Boer equaled West over nine innings and the game went to extras in a scoreless tie, but Washington scored three times in the top of the 10th off Ducks relievers Scott McGough and Porter Clayton.
Oregon’s best chance to score came in the second inning. With runners on first and second and two out, Altobelli appeared to reach base on an error, but outfielder Aaron Jones was thrown out trying to score, ending the inning.
Friday
A pair of inexplicable mental mistakes contributed to a 14-inning, 4-3 loss to Washington in the series opener.
First, in the 11th inning, with one out and the winning run at third base, Conor Hofmann mistimed a suicide squeeze, breaking for home before Washington pitcher Adam Cimber began his throwing motion. Once he realized Hofmann’s mistake, Cimber stepped off the rubber and nabbed the overzealous freshman at home.
Later, after Washington scored a run in the top of the 14th to go ahead, the Ducks mounted a threat in the bottom of the frame. However, with only one out, Thomas got doubled off at second after Pulfer’s fly ball to right field was caught, ending the game in gut-wrenching fashion.
Cimber got the win for the Huskies, while Kellen Moen was tagged with the loss for Oregon despite not allowing an earned run over six innings.
The Ducks will return to play Wednesday when they visit Portland. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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Oregon baseball gets much-needed conference win over Washington
Daily Emerald
April 9, 2011
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