The Ducks’ highly acclaimed bullpen failed them in the first two games of Oregon’s season-opening series at Hawaii, but starter Madison Boer got the team back on track with a
dominant performance Sunday.
Boer pitched eight scoreless innings and held the Rainbows to only one hit and two walks. Boer carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and faced only two batters over the minimum before Kellen Moen closed
out the Ducks’ first win of
the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Oregon sophomore catcher Jack Marder went 2 for 4 with two RBI, while Ryan Hambright and Danny Pulfer also contributed two hits. The Ducks scored one run in the second, third, fourth and eighth innings.
Friday
After Pulfer scored on a base hit by Connor Hofmann, the Ducks took a 3-1 lead in the season opener, but the Rainbows came charging back to take a 4-3 victory.
With Oregon’s ace starter Tyler Anderson out of the game and Moen in, Hawaii’s Kolten Wong reached second base on a single and an Oregon error. Wong subsequently scored when outfielder Jeffrey Van Doornum hit an RBI single, and Oregon head coach George Horton removed Moen and inserted Porter Clayton.
Clayton allowed a single to Michael Blake, then was quickly removed from the game in favor of Scott McGough. However, McGough surrendered a double to Rainbows outfielder Collin Bennett that scored Blake. Bennett eventually scored on a passed ball charged to Marder, and Hawaii took a 4-3 lead.
Rainbows closer Lenny Linsky came on in the top of the ninth inning to get the save.
Saturday
As it did in the season opener, Oregon took a lead into the late innings before faltering. This time, Oregon was up 10-9 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, but Hawaii’s Breland Almadova hit a two-run walk-off single to give the Rainbows an 11-10 victory.
Oregon took a 9-7 lead in the eighth inning, but Hawaii scored two runs in the bottom of the frame. Almadova led off the inning with a triple and scored on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Pi’ikea Kitamura scored on a double play to knot the score at nine.
After the Ducks went back ahead 10-9 in the top of the ninth on Shawn Peterson’s pinch-hit RBI single, Hawaii scored two runs off McGough to get its second straight
comeback win.
Monday’s series finale concluded after the Emerald went to print.
adrukarev@dailyemerald