Although Matt Krook didn’t have his best stuff in his return, the Oregon Ducks used an offensive outburst Saturday to beat San Diego State, 10-5.
Austin Grebeck set the tone with a leadoff triple into the left field corner, and came around to score two batters later on a 4-6-3 double play. The triple was the fourth of Grebeck’s career.
Daniel Patzlaff extended Oregon’s lead t0 3-0 in the second with a two-out triple to right field. Steven Packard, who redshirted last season, and freshman Travis Moniot scored after walking on base.
Krook, in his first start since April 5, 2014, faced adversity in the bottom of the second. A fielding error by Daniel Patzlaff and a hit batsman put runners on the corners with one out. A double by David Hensley knocked both runs home. A passed ball and a wild pitch shortly thereafter brought Hensley home and evened the score at three.
Packard put the Ducks back on top in the third with a two-run home run to right field. A.J. Balta scored after drawing his second walk.
Oregon kept the pedal to the metal against a new pitcher in the fourth. Mike Diamond took over for Cody Thompson after three innings, four hits, five runs, four walks and two strikeouts, and gave up a triple to Balta, Oregon’s third three-bagger of the day. Moniot came around to score, as did Balta on Jakob Goldfarb’s single a play later.
After four straight strikeouts, Krook conceded consecutive walks in the bottom of the fourth. Tim Susnara’s throwing error on a throw down to second put Tyler Adkison on third. Adkison scored on Alan Trejo’s single through the right side to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Balta, who missed the 2015 season due to injury, notched his second and third RBIs of the day with a two-run blast over the right field fence in the sixth. The home run was the fourth of Balta’s career and extended Oregon’s lead to 9-4.
Susnara cracked his second double of the day in the seventh and came around to score on Moniot’s single and a throwing error.
Freshman Kyle Robeniol took over for Krook in the fifth after four innings, four runs (two earned), three walks and six strikeouts. The Aztecs tacked on one run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but otherwise could not muster any offense against Robeniol. Robeniol allowed five hits and one run on two walks and three strikeouts in five innings, and picked up his first career win.
Balta finished the day 2-for-3 with a triple, home run and three RBIs. The Ducks totaled 11 hits and stranded seven runners; the Aztecs hit safely nine times and left 10 runners on base.
Having clinched the series win against the Aztecs, the Ducks will try to complete the sweep Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @KennyJacoby