Coming off a 6-3 loss against Arizona State on Friday, March 19, starting pitcher Cullen Kafka and the Ducks overpowered Arizona’s lineup from top to bottom on Saturday, cruising to a 7-1 win.

Kafka had an afternoon he won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The 6-foot-4 right-hander from Walnut Creek, California, had a career-high 11 strikeouts. Kafka’s ability to go late into the ballgame and still be dialed in proved to be the difference-maker. His ability to get up in the count early forced ASU hitters to chase pitches out of the zone and forget about plate discipline. By the seventh inning, Kafka was still throwing 93 MPH.

“That’s how I am on the mound, that’s what I expect out of myself,” Kafka said.

Oregon’s first runs of the ballgame came from the big bat of Kenyon Yovan. In the bottom of the third, a Tanner Smith walk opened the inning up for the Ducks. As the rain began to pour hard, Yovan sent a missile over the left-field fence to put the Ducks up 2-0. The home run for Yovan puts him at six on the year, good for top-20 in the nation. 

Yovan’s large presence at the plate has helped his teammates succeed as well.

“He’s got tremendous ability and he is seeing the ball well. I like what we have in Kenyon and he’s got a tremendous future,” head coach Wasikowski said.

Cautious to face a very hot Yovan, ASU pitcher Tyler Thornton worked around him, not throwing a single pitch in the zone, to eventually walk him. 

Gabe Matthews was next up and first pitch swinging, he launched his first home run of the season over the fence in center to take a 4-0 lead. 

“I think that’s only the second ball I’ve seen leave in that part of the field since I’ve coached at the University of Oregon,” Wasikowski said.

Sam Novitske led the seventh off with a walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt to move him to scoring position. A two-out double by Smith to the left-center gap scored Novitske as the Ducks moved out to a 5-0 lead. 

In the eighth, Novitske had a chance to come up big for the Ducks. A single by Matthews, a walk to Aaron Zavala, and Josh Kasevich’s bunt for a single loaded the bases for Novitske. Novitske came in clutch, driving in two on a single that just got past the diving attempt from Arizona’s third baseman Hunter Haas.

The two teams will play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday, March 21.