The Oregon Ducks baseball team ensured that they would not fly out of Goss Stadium and take their flock to Eugene without at least one win, prevailing over the Beavers 7-1.
The #9 Beavers had won the first two of the teams’ three-game series over the past three days, but it was the #22 Ducks who got the last quack on Sunday.
Never trailing in the entirety of the game, Oregon put two runs on the board in the top of the first. With the Beavers unable to muster offensive production in the bottom of the inning, the Ducks returned to the field and Mason Neville launched a home run, extending the Beavers’ deficit to 3-0.
Having won the previous two games in the series by a combined run total of 6-2, the Beavers did not expect the Ducks to match their previous scoring from the previous 18 innings in the first inning alone.
It was an off day for the Beaver bats, who managed only two hits. While five batters walked, none of them were able to score. The Beavers’ only run in the game came when Brady Kasper belted a ball to center field in the bottom of the 7th, with Oregon State trailing 6-0.
With the Beavers’ recent struggles, head coach Mitch Canham addressed the team’s 4-6 record since their 11-10 loss at home to Stanford on April 14.
“Some of those games were really close and just swayed right at the end…I’d take this club over anybody; we always put ourselves in a situation to really be in the game,” Canham said.
Travis Bazzana, the Beavers’ star and presumed future draft pick, was held in check on Sunday, walking twice and scoring no runs.
Elsewhere for Oregon State, Mason Guerra and Dallas Macias were both 0-4 at the plate, but Canham thinks the Beavers’ recent struggles are more likely bad luck than underperformance.
“Games could always be different. But, it’s baseball and you’re gonna have some ups and downs,” Canham said. “Yesterday you saw it: a ball hit the post and if it goes one inch the other way it’s outta the park and if it goes one inch the other way then it maybe hits the vinyl and is only a double instead of having a guy on third.”
Canham’s assessment is in line with OSU’s recent results: five of their six losses were by two runs or fewer.
After the game, the Beavers retained their position at third in the Pac-12 standings with a 12-8 record in conference play (33-10 overall), while the Ducks moved up to third sporting a 12-9 record in the PAC-12 and 29-14 mark overall.
One more meeting remains for the rivals; with both teams jostling for position in the conference standings, the last game may help to determine the conference’s final standings.
The Beavers and Ducks will play one last game on Tuesday at 6:05pm at PK park in Eugene.
