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Maddox, Duck lineup come alive in commanding win over Redhawks

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By Saul Galvan

EUGENE, Ore- Coming off a high-scoring performance the previous night, the Ducks kept the offense production going in game three vs. Seattle. Oregon managed to plate 9 runs in the win over the Redhawks. Maddox Molony led the offense with 3 hits, including his first career home run all in the ballpark where he grew up watching games.

“I was hoping it sparked something,” said Molony. “Hitting it in this uniform (Oregon) though was cool.” Molony graduated from Thurtston Highschool where he led his team to a state championship as a senior. The hometown kid was banged up to start the season but has had a good series with six combined hits. 

The rest of the offense backed up Molony’s performance, converting with base runners on. Last night, Oregon left 13 baserunners stranded but cleaned things up tonight, with only eight. Bennett Thompson, Jeffrey Heard, and Drew Smith all had 2 hits a piece. Thompson drove in three runs, two of which came in the 8th inning on a triple. The lineup came alive in the game’s back half, scoring four in the 5th and 8th inning. “Our (at-bats) are getting older,” said coach Mark Wasikowski. “We were able to pull away in the end…pretty complete offensively.” The Ducks continuously took at-bats deep into the count, knocking out Seattle’s pitcher in the fifth inning. As the series and season have progressed, this ever-changing lineup has started to find a rhythm heading into one of the most crucial parts of conference play 

Pitching was once again dominant, led by Grayson Grinsell. Grinsell threw six innings, allowing just three hits and one run. The sophomore pitcher also struck out nine batters en route to another solid pitching performance. “Kind of all three (offspeed pitches) but the changeup was my go-to,” said Grinsell. Many of the punchouts came via offspeed pitches, which Grinsell located well against the Seattle lineup. It is the sixth outing of the season where he only allowed one run or less. His ERA sits just below 1.65 in his last three starts. Unlike the previous two games, the Ducks only needed two other pitchers to close out the ballgame. Matthew Grabmann came in the sixth but got into trouble immediately, walking the first two batters, which led to Seattle’s second run. Ryan Featherston came in and held the Redhawks to just one run. He would finish the game and secure his first career save. 

Oregon has steadily improved since game one of the series. The offense has been able to capitalize with baserunners on, while the pitching has limited scoring opportunities. Questions about the everyday lineup continue, though we could still see shifts as the season progresses. Unlike last year with a solidified veteran lineup, Wasikoswki has many options to fill the gaps. Molony and Cooney could be on a rotating basis at shortstop with Drew Smith making the move over to second base. The rotation of Gordon, Grinsell, and Seitter has also become more consistent. Toby Twist remains a solid fourth option in the rotation but could move to the bullpen if the rotation continues its dominant performances. 

The Ducks look to sweep Seattle on Saturday and finish their eleven-game homestand with a win. 

OREGON WLAX PREVIEW: Ducks look to right the ship against Aggies in conference play

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By Mario Ponce

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon Ducks women’s lacrosse team (6-3, 0-2 Pac-12) will host the University of California Davis Aggies (8-3, 1-1 Pac-12) tomorrow in their third Pac-12 game of the season. The Ducks lost their opening two conference matchups and look to bounce back against the Aggies.

Oregon Ducks:

The Ducks have enjoyed their best start to a season in many years so far, but after going 5-1 before conference play, they lost back-to-back against the Cal Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks have historically struggled in this sport, and they finished last season in the last position in the conference with a 1-9 Pac-12 record. This year, every team will play every other team only once, and after tomorrow’s game, Oregon has four games in April. The Ducks lost to the Bears in a narrow squeaker but were outgunned by the Cardinal by double digits. Their offensive leader so far is senior midfielder Morgan McCarthy. She leads the team in goals, assists and points.

UC Davis Aggies:

The Aggies will play in the Pac-12 for only this season, as they will move to the Big 12 next year. They finished their pre-conference schedule 7-2 and had five consecutive wins at one point before losing to the No. 11 Florida Gators. Last season UC Davis finished with an 8-6 record, but it didn’t play any conference games. The Aggies actually traveled to Eugene and faced the Ducks last April and lost in an overtime thriller 13-12. So far this season they lost to the No. 17 USC Trojans and then beat fellow conference newcomer San Diego State Aztecs at home. Their best offensive performer is junior attacker Grace Gebhardt who leads the team in goals and points.

Prediction:

This will be a close matchup. Last season these teams went to overtime and Oregon won narrowly. The Ducks are a very different team now than in years past, and after two tough losses to open conference play, they look for their first Pac-12 win, but the Aggies have shown they can be very competitive. I predict a 12-9 win for the Ducks.