Holy Toledo was the ball flying at PK Park on Saturday afternoon!
The No. 12 Ducks (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) used rocket after rocket to hand the Toledo Rockets (1-2, 0-0 MAC) their second loss of the season and clinch the (at worst) series split.
The Ducks mashed a program-record seven homers on Saturday, much to the delight of head coach Mark Wasikowski.
“I like program records,” he said. “Any record is great.”
It certainly was a great day for the Ducks. Seven of their 12 total hits left the yard in the win and Oregon only had to use two pitchers in the shutout.
Oregon sent Saint Mary’s transfer Jason Reitz to the mound to try and avenge Game One’s loss. Reitz boasted a 3-1 record with a 6.00 ERA in 67 innings in 2024. He allowed a pair of runners to reach in both his opening frame and the third, but kept the Rockets off the board. He tallied five strikeouts (including fanning the side in the second) across his 45-pitch start.
Oregon’s first hit of the afternoon came in the second inning on Maddox Molony’s first homer of the season. The shortstop’s solo shot gave the Ducks an early 1-0 lead for Retiz to protect.
“Jason crushed it,” Ian Umlandt said. “He did his job exactly what I’m assuming the coaches asked him to do.”
Oregon got to Toledo starter Ryan Kennedy again in the third inning on a sacrifice fly from Drew Smith. Jeffery Heard hurt him in the fourth, teeing off on a fastball and sending it out to right-center field. Burke-Lee Mabeus added to the lead with a sacrifice fly of his own just a few batters later to make it a 4-0 advantage for the Ducks to take into the fifth.
Kennedy’s day would end after the fourth. His four-inning, four-hit, four-run outing earned him his first loss of the season.
Ian Umlandt came in to relieve Reitz for the fourth inning. He needed just six pitches to work a 1-2-3 fourth and eight to work a scoreless fifth. Umlandt struck-out the side in the sixth and his six efficient innings of shutout ball earned him his first win of the season.
“He was really effective,” Wasikowski said. “He got out ahead of hitters and made them swing at the pitches that he wanted them to swing at. He really gave us everything we could ask and more.”
Umlandt fanned eight hitters while allowing just two hits over his 66-pitch relief performance. He kept Toledo’s offense completely at bay while the offensive homers continued to add up.
“This is nice as a pitcher,” Umlandt said. “When you’re sitting there and it’s one or two [offensive runs] every inning… it’s just nice because then my job is just continue to go out and attack.”
Oregon’s homer parade continued in the bottom of the fifth as both Mason Neville and Jacob Walsh left the yard for their second homers of the season. Walsh took his out to left field while Neville turned on one and crushed it into the Ducks’ bullpen.
Molony sent his second homer of the game into the Rockets’ arm barn in the bottom of the sixth as Oregon tallied a run for a fifth-straight inning. Toledo reliever Yianni Skeriotis didn’t fare well against the Ducks’ explosive offense, allowing three runs on four hits across two innings of work.
Unsurprisingly, two more balls left the yard in the seventh as Walsh and Anson Aroz went back-to-back to put the Ducks’ lead at 9-0. Oregon’s sixth and seventh homers of the game became comical on a day where Eugene’s sluggers torched the Rockets’ staff from start to finish. The Ducks hit six or more homers for the first time since last April in a victory over Gonzaga in which Umlandt also earned the game’s win.
“It makes everything so much easier,” Umlandt said of the run support. “Helps me do my job better.”
The switch-hitting freshman, Mabeus, made his first collegiate start behind the dish as Reitz’ backstop on Saturday. He finished the day 2-3 with a sacrifice fly and a stolen base.
“He killed it,” Umlandt said. “He caught me a lot over the fall and winter, so I don’t think there’s an unfamiliarity in the relationship we have. He brings an incredible amount of energy and that’s something that for him is extremely authentic and it’s a blast to throw to him.
Oregon looks for the series win tomorrow while Toledo hopes to earn the split against the No. 12-ranked team in the nation. First pitch is set for 12:05 and freshman phenom Will Samford is expected to start for the Ducks.
