The Pilots sat in the eye of the hurricane. The No. 13 Oregon Ducks played a midweek game against Portland, sandwiched between two series against ranked opponents that will end up defining their 2025 season.
But those Pilots continued to be a major thorn in the Ducks’ side, defeating Oregon for the second time in less than a month. The Ducks dropped another heartbreaker to the Pilots as the bullpen collapsed. It was deja vu of the previous loss to Portland, one that’s stood as one of the ugliest blemishes on Oregon’s 2025 season resume.
Tuesday may have added a new low.
Oregon led both 5-0 and 9-5, the latter being the score entering the seventh inning. The latest collapse from the Oregon bullpen erased the Ducks’ hot start at attempt to avenge their first loss to a sub-.500 Portland (18-23, 9-6 WCC) squad.
“At surface value, we didn’t throw the ball over the plate good enough to win the game,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.
Before there was a lead to blow, the Ducks had to get ahead.
No. 13 Oregon (27-12, 14-7 Big Ten) got started right away. Mason Neville led the bottom of the first off with a double in the right-center gap and Jacob Walsh drove him in with a single up the middle. Walsh, too, would come around to score on a two-RBI single from Anson Aroz.
Moments later, Ryan Cooney added a two-RBI single of his own to the Ducks’ first-inning bombardment of Portland Starter Kaden Starr, who lasted just 0.2 innings. The Eugene native was tagged for five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks across his 36-pitch outing.
Portland got a pair of runs back before an out was recorded in the second frame on a two-run blast from Zach Toglia.
Oregon got the two runs back in the third as Logan Anderson (2.1 IP, two runs, one hit) loaded the bases with free passes and balked in a run. Drew Smith brought another home on an infield single as Oregon starter Will Sanford’s cushion grew.
Sanford made his first midweek start of his collegiate career on Tuesday. The freshman recorded a couple solid innings of work before he walked the bases loaded in the fourth, ending his outing. Ryan Featherston entered to try and work out of the jam, but his first pitch sailed to the back stop to plate a run.
Henry Muench brought another Pilot home with an RBI groundout in the inning, bringing Sanford’s final line to 3.1 innings, four runs, two hits, three strikeouts and five walks on 71 pitches of work.
“He’s out there competing,” Wasikowski said. “He’s a young guy with a good arm. He’s out there competing. He had some moments of really good and he had some things that I’m sure he wants to clean up.”
Oregon added to its lead in the sixth with some small ball. The Ducks dropped a pair of bunts down and used some heads-up baserunning to push a pair of runs across and take a 9-4 advantage.
“You have to be able to execute in order to win tight games,” Wasikowski said. “Overall, tonight, I thought the offense did a nice job of executing what we tried to do.”
Featherston threw nicely for a while after the wild pitch. He fanned five-straight hitters from the fourth to six innings, but ran into serious trouble in the seventh.
He allowed a trio of hits and a pair of walks to allow the Pilots back into the contest and claw within two runs. Cole Stokes relieved him with two on and two outs and got Riley McCarthy swinging, but the game had reached an uncomfortable stage.
“Nine (runs) should be enough to win,” Wasikowski said. “I think that’s pretty simple, but it wasn’t enough to win.”
Despite the timely strikeout, Stokes only faced one batter. Seth Mattox came in to pitch the eighth, but allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach. He was an out away from working out of the jam, but Brady Bean had other plans. The Pilots’ right fielder launched a ball way out to left field, a three-run shot that put Portland ahead for the first time.
The Ducks’ offense had no response. The Oregon bullpen that had been subject to much criticism in the month of April cost the team another win. The Pilots are 2-0 against Oregon this season despite sitting well under .500.
The bullpen was responsible for six runs on six hits in the loss. Oregon led by five runs at two different points in Tuesday’s contest, but no lead was safe.
The biggest test of Oregon’s season awaits the Ducks this weekend. No. 3 Oregon State comes to town for three of the four games the two rivals will play in 2025. The Ducks need a good showing to prove their salt against a high-quality opponent and will look to lefty Grayson Grinsell to get them a series-opening win Friday night at 5:05 p.m.
