Oregon didn’t lead until the seventh inning, but it never felt like the Ducks were in any danger of losing Saturday’s contest.
A stellar outing from Collin Clarke and some late-game hitting from the bottom of the Ducks’ lineup earned No. 9 Oregon (17-3, 5-0 Big Ten) its fifth-straight conference win.
The Ducks battled the Gophers (7-9, 1-4 Big Ten) and the elements (much like they did in Friday’s 5-2 win) and were victorious over both in their 20th game of the season.
“They were able to just kind of hang with it,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “And then find a way to get it done there at the end of the game.”
Saturday’s contest looked to be a pitcher’s duel early as both Oregon starter Collin Clarke and Minnesota starter Kyle Remington settled in early, allowing just one walk a piece through two hitless frames.
But the Gophers took advantage of some sloppy play from the Ducks in the third to push across the game’s first run. Sam Hunt singled off a ball that hit Jacob Walsh’s outstretched glove at first before a walk pushed him over to second. Then, a grounder to Ryan Cooney was thrown past first base, allowing Hunt to score on the throwing error.
Remington, meanwhile, continued to deal. Even after he surrendered Oregon’s first hit to Anson Aroz in the fourth, he left Aroz stranded at second in his two-strikeout frame.
Clarke remained composed after the third-inning run. Even after allowing a pair of men to reach in the fifth, he fanned a pair to work out of the frame. He finished with eight total strikeouts across his seven innings of work, both stats tying career highs.
He demonstrated impressive command despite the tricky elements. His changeup was lethal and he threw 65 of his 106 total pitches for strikes in the downpour.
“For Collin, just continuing to mix [pitches] and get ahead in the count has been a big success for him,” Wasikowski said.
Oregon tied the game with an unearned run of its own in the fifth. Cooney — who had the Ducks’ error back in the second — reached on a fielding error, was moved to third by a Carter Garate double and driven in by a Mason Neville sacrifice fly.
Remington and Clarke continued to go blow for blow in the sixth. When the frame ended, both starters had thrown 90 pitches and allowed one (unreared) run on just two hits. The two arms were elite in the rain on Saturday.
Clarke and Burk-Lee Mabues combined for an electric strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play to end the top of the seventh and the two both exited the field jumping. It was a picturesque way for Clarke to end his seven-inning, three-hit, one-run outing.
“For Collin to be able to go seven strong innings like that is really big for our pitching staff,” Wasikowski said.
Cooney continued to make up for his early blunder with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to plate Jeffery Heard — who led the frame off with a double — and put the Ducks ahead.
Wasikowski said he was impressed with Cooney’s “resilience” on Saturday as he led the comeback charge after previously relenting the lead.
The back-to-back doubles ended Remington’s day, who finished with an impressive 6.2 innings against the No. 9-ranked team in the nation. He finished with six strikeouts and four walks, but was responsible for three runs (two earned).
Cooney scored on a Neville RBI single in the two-run seventh that put Oregon ahead for the first time. A poor eighth frame from the Gophers’ bullpen featured three walks and gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead to take into the ninth.
Just like they did on Friday, the Gophers made it interesting in the ninth. Blake Hellum led the inning off with a double and came around to score on a Jake Elbeery RBI single. Featherston faced the potential tying run, but got him to ground into a game-ending double play.
Clarke got his second win of the season and Featherston earned his second save as the Ducks won their second game in their second Big Ten series. Oregon goes for the sweep with Will Sanford on the bump on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.
