Before heading home after taking two-of-three from the USC Trojans over the weekend, the Oregon Ducks baseball team played one game against the University of California Riverside Highlanders on Monday afternoon. The Ducks came away with the 10-6 victory.
Freshman Zack Noll got the start for the Ducks (29-23, 11-16) and made the most of his opportunity in just his fourth start this season. He held UC Riverside hitless during his five inning outing, earning his second win of the season. He struck out seven and walked two batters.
The Oregon offense put together a pair of runs in the first inning to set the tone for the game. Kyle Kasser led the game off with a single, then later scored on an error by the catcher, allowing Morgan McCullough to advance to third. McCullough also scored due to a sacrifice fly by Spencer Steer.
Taylor Travess added a run in the fourth on an RBI single to give the Ducks a three-run lead. In the seventh, Oregon tacked on a pair of runs to push the lead to 5-0.  In the bottom half of the inning the Highlanders used a two-RBI double to cut the Oregon lead to three.
The ninth inning was a big scoring output for both teams. A combined eight runs were scored between the two teams. The Ducks put four on the scoreboard in the top of the inning. Steer hit a two-RBI single and Gabe Matthews added a two-run home run in the inning. Steer finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Needing eight runs, the Highlanders could only match the Ducks’ ninth inning output. Tony Gudino hit an RBI-single and Colby Schultz crushed a three-run home run for the game’s final margin.
The Ducks will take on the UCLA Bruins in a three-game series that wraps up the regular season. The series gets underway Thursday at 6 p.m. at PK Park.
Follow Zak Laster: @zlast3445