The biggest game of Oregon’s season to date became one of the most entertaining contests PK Park has seen this season as the Ducks outlasted UCLA with a 10-6 win. 

A four-run eighth inning became the final blow in a back-and-forth affair as No. 10 Oregon (27-11, 14-7 Big Ten) earned the series win over No. 10 UCLA (29-10, 13-5 Big Ten).

The Ducks smacked a trio of well-timed homers and got a much-needed, bounceback outing from their pitching staff. 

“It’s good to win a conference weekend,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “They’re hard to win and (especially) against a good program. The guys played a complete game today.”

The Ducks sent RHP Jason Reitz to the mound as they looked to take the series. He had a respectable outing aside from an unfortunate fourth inning that featured a pair of errors and allowed UCLA to take an unearned lead. 

Oregon got the scoring going in the bottom of the second. A string of three singles to left field from Drew Smith, Anson Aroz and Maddox Molony led the inning off and opened up a 1-0 lead. A bunt from Burke-Lee Mabeus moved runners over before Ryan Cooney brought Aroz (2-4, two runs) in with an RBI groundout for the second run of the inning. 

“We wanted to be the tougher team,” Wasikowski said. “We felt like we hadn’t given that to our fans from time to time and that was a sore subject for the team.”

UCLA got one right back in the following frame. A one-out hit-by-pitch moved to third on a Dean West double and came in to score on a Roch Cholowsky RBI groundout. The free pass hurt Reitz, but a nice play from Carter Garate (1-3, two runs) at third kept a second run from scoring and kept Oregon in front for the time being. 

Roman Martin took a pitch to straight-away center field and nearly struck the top of the batter’s eye to tie the game with a monster blast. Two more hits followed suit to set the Bruins up with runners at second and third with nobody out and they capitalized with a Chashel Dugger RBI groundout to take their first lead of the day. 

Unfortunately for Oregon, an error from Molony at short extended the inning and allowed a third run to cross in a fourth inning that saw UCLA take a 4-2 advantage.

Oregon got a quick response on Aroz’s 11th homer of the season, one that nearly cleared the PDA in right field. A pair of two-out singles from Cooney and Garate set Mason Neville up for a chance at history.

He delivered, launching a long three-run homer to the roof of the PDA to put Oregon back ahead 6-4. His 19th blast of the season set the new Oregon single-season home run record and sparked an eruption from the Ducks’ dugout. 

Neville’s (3-4, two runs, three RBIs) heroics chased Landon Stump from the game. UCLA’s Sunday starter lasted 3.2 innings and allowed six earned runs on seven hits (both tying season-highs) across his 67 pitches. 

“I’d say it’s all about the team, really,” Neville said. “I want to go to Omaha. Never been there. I’d say that’s goal number one and that might be the only goal.”

Retiz’s day ended after a scoreless fifth frame. Across his 97 pitches, he fanned four and allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits. 

“Grit,” Wasikowski said of what he saw from Reitz in the win. “Grit. He battled through…He showed grittiness that we need out of our pitching staff and he was a very  good example of that today.”

Ian Umlandt took over in the sixth and allowed a run in an inning that featured five different Bruins on base, but he got Mulivai Levu looking to leave the bases loaded and keep Oregon ahead. 

The Ducks squandered two crucial opportunities in Sunday’s win. In both the fifth and seventh innings, Jacob Walsh and Smith drew back-to-back walks before an out was recorded, but Oregon couldn’t push anything across in either frame. The Ducks left nine runners on base in the win. 

UCLA hit four-straight singles in the eighth to tie the contest, load the bases and chase Umlandt from the game. Seth Mattox entered and utilized a 5-2 double play to escape the jam and keep the contest knotted, much like the stomachs of those in attendance. 

Mabeus didn’t let the tie last for long. He sent the first pitch he saw in the eighth inches over the wall in left to put Oregon back ahead with his second homer of the season. 

“I wasn’t so sure it went over,” Mabeus said. “I was looking for the umpires, trying to see if they were going to tell me if it was over or not. I think I found out (while) rounding second, still sprinting.”

The Ducks loaded the bases later in the inning. This time, they cashed in. 

Walsh (2-3, two BB, two RBIs) brought a pair of insurance runs in with a two-RBI single and Smith added a sacrifice fly to his 1-2, two-walk day. 

Series, Ducks. Oregon earned its first regular-season series win over a top-10-ranked team since April of 2023. 

The Bruins still own a 39-21 lead over the Ducks in their all-time series and are 19-10 against Oregon in Eugene, but the Ducks got the crucial series win when their RPI, ranking and Big Ten standing needed it. 

The Ducks will play Portland at PK Park on Tuesday before welcoming the No. 6 Oregon State Beavers into town for a crucial three-game rivalry series on Friday. Oregon dropped a heartbreaker to the Pilots up in Portland earlier this year and look to salvage a season split on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m.