The rain delay lasted longer than the game itself, but when the sun (kind of) came out, so did the Oregon bats. Anson Aroz and Burke-Lee Mabeus both smacked grand slams in the Ducks’ seven-inning, series-winning 15-2 victory over Rhode Island.
“I thought we played a complete game,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.
The No. 11 Ducks (6-2, 0-0 Big Ten) took the series win over the Rams (3-4) on a record-breaking day from Mabeus and Jacob Walsh.
The Rams looked primed to jump on freshman pitcher Will Sanford right away. Three walks and double gave Rhode Island an early 1-0 lead and a golden bases-loaded, no-out opportunity, but Sanford struck-out the next three hitters to limit the damage to the lone run.
The Ducks worked a similar bases-loaded, no-out scenario in the bottom of the frame, but didn’t squander the gift like Rhode Island did. Maebus ripped a two-RBI single into left and Jax Gimenez brought a third run home with an RBI groundout, giving Sanford a lead to protect.
Unfortunately, he responded by walking the first two batters of the second inning and hitting another. With the bases loaded, he worked another Harry Houdini act, getting a double-play ball to end the threat. Rhode Island stranded five runners through the first two innings, but only had one hit to show for its seven baserunners.
The third inning was halted by a two-hour, 55-minute rain delay that knocked both starters out of the game. Sanford finished with 2.1 innings of two-hit, two-run ball with five walks and four strikeouts. He threw 57 pitches in his no decision.
“We spent some time in the locker room,” Aroz said of the delay. “We watched some YouTube videos of some old games, just doing things that college baseball players do in the locker room.”
Just dudes being dudes, watching baseball.
Four hours and forty minutes after the game started, Mabeus launched his first collegiate homer out to right in grand fashion. The freshman catcher unloaded on a pitch and sent a frozen rope off into the Ducks’ bullpen. Through four innings, Mabeus was 3-3 with six RBIs — the first player with six since Chase Meggers against Stanford in 2024.
“It was awesome,” Mabeus said. “Having the bases loaded was a pretty coole time to [hit my first-career homer]. I came back to the dugout and my teammates were pretty pumped for me, so it was just a great experience.”
Just as they had all weekend, the Ducks took advantage of Rhode Island’s awful pitching control. The Rams’ staff issued 12 free passes on Sunday (10 walks and two hit-by-pitches) in their third-straight loss.
Nine of those free passes came to the Ducks’ first three hitters. Mason Neville walked three times while Dominic Hellman and Walsh both drew a pair of walks and got plunked to get on base.
Neville also doubled twice and reached base five times one day after his two-homer performance in Saturday’s 19-12 win. He’s up to hitting .344 on the young season.
Walsh brought a pair of runs home in the fifth with his third RBI double in two games. With that double, he became Oregon’s all-time leader in multiple-RBI games. Walsh has a team-leading 13 RBIs with a .333 average in 2025.
“It’s pretty cool,” Walsh said of the record. “I didn’t even really know it was a stat until they put it on the board.”
Michael Mecka came in for Sanford after the rain delay and dazzled in his collegiate debut. Across his 3.2 scoreless innings, he only allowed two hits and two hits while fanning two. He also threw 57 pitches on Sunday.
“It felt great,” Mecka said. “It was good to get out there and it’s good knowing you’ve got a good defense behind you.”
Jaxon Jordan took over on the mound to make his season debut in the seventh. He worked the game’s first 1-2-3 frame. Five of the Ducks’ seven leadoff hitters reached base to start their respective innings. The final one came on an infield single by Carter Garate, who came around to score on Aroz’s game-ending grand slam.
With the run rule in effect, the Ducks and the Rams called it a series. Oregon now holds a 3-1 all-time record over Rhode Island. The Ducks are back in action next week against Columbia. The two squads will start a four-game series on Friday at 3:05 pm.
