The Ducks needed an outing like the one they got on Friday. They needed contagious hitting from start to finish and they got it. They needed to get back on track and they did.
“We’re a gritty ball club,” Oregon designated hitter Dominic Hellman said after his two-hit, five-RBI night.
No. 15 Oregon (21-8, 9-4 Big Ten) exploded for five runs in the third and six in the fifth in its 15-2 win over Michigan (16-13, 7-6 Big Ten).
The Big Ten run rule (10-run lead after seven innings) mercifully ended Friday’s smackdown early, but Oregon still got its statement win.
Five different Ducks recorded homers while Grayson Grinsell had one of the best outings of his season as Oregon got its weekend off to an ideal start.
“The kids played really well,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “They were on the ball. They were on time. They played really well.”
Both starting arms got off to impressive starts. They each relented a first-inning hit, but neither allowed the runner to advance any further and threw 1-2-3 second frames.
Grinsell was especially impressive in the early goings of Friday’s contest. Despite allowing back-to-back hits in both third and fourth innings, he was able to get some timely groundouts and fly balls to strand runner after runner. The Wolverines left five men on base through the first four frames and seven overall in the loss.
“Grayson’s been a rock for us,” Wasikowski said.
The Oregon bats, however, got to Michigan starter David Lally Jr. in the third. Ryan Cooney (2-3, two RBI) led the frame off with his second homer of the season to spark a five-run, four-hit inning that featured a Hellman sacrifice fly and a Jacob Walsh (1-2, three walks) RBI double before Anson Aroz’s (2-4) 10th blast of the season found the parking lot.
An inning later, Parker Stinson (1-3) got a hold of one for his first homer as a Duck. The homer parade made it five-straight games with multiple homers for the Ducks. A few pitches later, Mason Neville (3-5, three RBI) bounced his team-leading 13th bomb of the season off the right-field foul pole to blow the game open, 8-0.
That would end Lally Jr.’s day. He relented eight runs on eight hits across four innings of work as his ERA jumped up to 5.13. He earned his third loss of the season.
Michigan’s nine-hole hitter got the Wolverines on the board in the fifth. Greg Pace Jr. took advantage of PK Park’s dimensions for his second homer of the season. The solo shot broke up Grinsell’s shutout and he walked the next two batters to give the maize and blue a prime opportunity to claw back into the game. Luke Voit (2-3) singled a man home, but Grinsell got another timely grounder to end the threat and minimize the damage.
“Everyone’s making great plays around the field,” Grinsell said of his team’s defense. “It just eases your mind on the mound. It doesn’t matter if they hit it, it’s going to be an out. That’s a big thing as a pitcher.”
Both Carter Garate (1-1, two walks, four runs) and Cooney made stellar plays in the infield while Neville ran down several well-struck balls in center. Baseball is a team game and the Ducks demonstrated that to the fullest extent on Friday.
A pair of infield singles and a fielding error loaded the bases for the Ducks in the bottom half of the fifth to set up Hellman for his third grand slam of the season. The Wolverines also walked a pair of runs home in the frame as Oregon set itself up in a prime spot for a run-rule victory.
Grinsell earned Friday’s win with his six innings of seven-hit, two-run ball. He collected five strikeouts across his 95 total pitches (61 strikes) and really did a great job minimizing and trusting the guys behind him.
“I tried to stay on each pitch,” Grinsell said. “I tried not to get ahead of myself…and trusted the guys behind me.”
Wasikowski said he had his team “right” on Friday. His squad will look to keep the same mojo going as it goes for the series win on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. Collin Clarke is expected to start for the Ducks.
