In the top of the ninth inning of Oregon’s Feb. 22 home-opener against St. Mary’s, the Ducks were two outs away from victory. But Oregon’s relievers had trouble locating the strike zone, leading to a tie game.
That dread quickly turned into excitement as Oregon created a game-winning opportunity one half-inning later. Freshman outfielder Tanner Smith stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
Saint Mary’s brought in an extra infielder, making it vital for Smith to send the ball far enough in the air for Jakob Goldfarb to score and win the game.
“I knew that coming back in the dugout, in a tie ballgame, that we were gonna do it,” Smith said. “ I was looking to hit something hard and put something in the air and found a way to do it.”
Smith drove the ball deep enough to right field to score Goldfarb, and although the ball was caught, he won the game.
“That’s not a surprise that Tanner was able to go up there and be aggressive and square a ball up,” head coach George Horton said. “He’s done that in the early part of our season consistently.”
Whether it’s reaching base four times like he did in the Opening Day victory over No. 8 Texas Tech, having a pair of two-out RBI singles against Loyola Marymount, knocking in the go-ahead run in the ninth against Hawaii or coming through with that sacrifice fly against St. Mary’s, Smith has established himself as a key piece of this young Oregon lineup for the next four years.
“He’s been awfully good for us there,” Horton said. “He’s gotten a lot of key hits. He hits the ball all over the park so it makes him tough to defend.”
The crucial at-bat against St. Mary’s meant more than just a win for Smith, whose mom, Christy Good, had traveled from Los Angeles to see his first home game.
“The hard work he’s been putting in is coming out on the field, so it’s an incredible feeling, as a mom, to see your son succeed like that,” Good said. “It was no surprise, and I’m glad to see he’s being rewarded for those efforts.”
And he started his list of accomplishments at an even younger age: Smith hit a game-winning home run in April of his senior year at Servite High School against American Fork in Los Angeles.
“It was my first ever walk-off then, and less than a year later, I got to do it now,” Smith said. “It was fun.”
Smith’s production has been very important to Oregon’s success thus far, and the walk-off against St. Mary’s helped his roommate and Servite teammate, Christian Ciuffetelli.
“That was awesome,” Ciuffetelli said. “Wish I could finish it, but my teammates picked me up. … Tanner came up and brought it home for us. It’s just guys picking up each other. It’s pretty awesome having Tanner do it just because of our history.”
While some freshmen might be turned away by a stressful situation, Smith lives for them.
“Playing under pressure, it just makes the game more fun,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, pressure or no pressure, you’re gonna go out there and perform your best. Just having a situation behind it, it helps me perform a little better.”
Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack
