Free passes can absolutely kill a team.
The Ducks demonstrated that on Wednesday night up in Portland. Two different innings saw Portland runs cross the plate without requiring a hit from the Pilots’ bats. Oregon’s pitching staff struggled with command in key situations, leading to the Ducks’ third-straight loss.
“It’s not because of a lack of effort,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “It’s a lack of execution and we lost the ballgame because of it.”
The Ducks’ recent concerning slide continued with a 7-6 loss to Portland on Wednesday night.
After a disastrous Saturday led to a series loss to the last-place Buckeyes, Oregon (20-8) fell to third in the Big Ten standings at 8-4. The Ducks also fell from No. 10 to No. 15 in the national rankings and needed a big week to bounce back and retake control of their season. They needed it to start in Portland in a midweek meet with the 12-17 Pilots.
Jacob Walsh got his Ducks off to a good start. He turned on an offspeed pitch in the bottom of the first to send a towering homer out to right field. He plated two and gave Oregon an early lead to protect with his sixth blast of the season.
Oregon’s typical midweek starter, Ian Umlandt, got the nod for the Wednesday battle and toed the rubber for his third start of the season. A Mason Neville fielding error in center led to Umlandt surrendering an unearned run in the first, but Oregon still led after the eventful first frame.
His second frame saw four different Pilots reach safely, but Umlandt worked a long scoreless frame to keep Oregon ahead. It was detrimental to his pitch count, however, and his day ended after 53 pitches and two frames.
Umlandt’s brother, Nolan, emerged from the Pilots’ dugout to make his second start of 2025, but he too had a shortened outing. He wasn’t tagged for anything other than Walsh’s bomb, but he finished with just two innings of two-run, two-hit ball while fanning three and walking one. Nolan Umlandt only faced eight hitters as his ERA moved from 7.79 to 7.91.
Kellan Knox took over for Ian Umlandt for the third inning, but relented a game-tying homer to Trey Swygart on the first pitch of his outing. Swygart finished 3-5 with two RBIs in the win.
Logan Anderson relieved Nolan Umlandt and fanned each of the first five batters he faced. Oregon didn’t have a runner reach a scoring position until the fifth inning.
The strikeout bug plagued the Ducks on Wednesday. Through the first five innings, Pilots’ pitchers collected 11 strikeouts. By the time the game ended, the tally sat at 16. Each Oregon starter fanned at least once in the loss.
“They mixed their pitches really well with really good stuff,” Wasikowski said of Portland’s pitching. “They threw a lot of strikes.”
Oregon was gifted a pair of unearned runs in the fifth. A routine grounder to first with two outs caused Doyle Kane to slip and toss his throw to first well over the pitcher’s head. Two runners (who both reached on walks) came around to score as home was left unattended. Oregon led 4-2 at the halfway point, but three of the game’s first six runs were unearned.
Oregon’s Julian Hernandez got roughed up a bit in the bottom of the fifth. He hit a batter and allowed a pair of singles to load the bases. A wild pitch brought a man home and he hit another batter to reload the bases. His poor outing ended after just 0.2 innings and 33 pitches.
Jaxon Jordan took over, but walked the first man he faced on four pitches to tie the game. One pitch later, a wild pitch gave the Pilots their first lead of the night. Jordan didn’t record a single out as a disastrous fifth inning (four free passes issued) swung all the momentum Portland’s way. The Ducks allowed five walks and hit five batters on Wednesday.
“A lot of different things happen in a baseball game,” Wasikowski said. “Baseball’s unpredictable.”
The back-and-forth affair continued in the sixth as Anson Aroz retook the lead with a two-run homer, his ninth of the season. Four of Oregon’s six total runs came via the longball on Wednesday.
Oregon’s Santiago Garcia seemed to have settled things down as he retired five straight before Portland’s Zach Toglia sent a towering game-tying homer out to left in the bottom of the seventh.
Toglia’s blast kept the contest knotted into the bottom of the ninth. Cole Stokes retired the first two hitters of the frame before hitting two batters and walking another to load the bases with free passes. His third hit-by-pitch of the inning brought in the game-winning run and sunk the Ducks in Portland.
“We made mistakes at the end to lose the ballgame,” Wasikowski said.
Oregon now leads the all-time series with the Pilots 109-42. The loss moves the Ducks to 30-13 in Portland in their history.
The Pilots will come to Eugene for another midweek game on April 22 to round out the season series. Oregon returns to PK Park this weekend for a huge series against Michigan, which currently sits fourth in the Big Ten Standings. First pitch on Friday is set for 5:05 p.m.
