By Aiden Hess
EUGENE - Oregon’s bid to complete a three game sweep over #7 ranked and conference rival Stanford Cardinal fell short on Sunday afternoon at PK Park. The Ducks were able to take the first two of the series winning 4-0 and 8-1 both behind complete game pitching performances from Jace Stoffal and Logan Mercado. The third time however was not the charm.
Leo Uelmen got the start on the bump for the Ducks looking to make immense on his five run, one inning outing against Oregon State one week ago. Uelmen looked to be in trouble early issuing three straight one out walks, but was able to fan back to back batters and put up a zero in the first. The game got off to a promising start for Oregon when third baseman and cleanup hitter Sabin Ceballos clubbed a no-doubt three run homer to left field in the first inning. The Ducks kept digging the long ball as Bryce Boettcher got a hold of one for his second round-tripper of the season, putting Oregon on top 4-0 after two innings.
Uelmen’s day ended in the third inning after he allowed the first two batters of the frame to reach. Thus made head coach Mark Wazikowksi reach into his bullpen for the first time all weekend. Matt Dallas entered to try to put an end to the third inning threat, but Stanford broke through scoring three on a trio of walks and a double cutting the deficit to one. In the top of the sixth with Dallas still on the mound, second baseman Braden Montogmery sent the first pitch of the inning over the right centerfield fence, knotting the score up a four.
From that point on, Stanford would not look back as they retired 11 consecutive Oregon batters and scored two go ahead runs in the seventh to put the ballgame to bed. Starting pitcher Joey Dixion was efficient following the early offensive outburst along with reliever Drew Dowd who turned in 3.2 innings of work getting the win and improving his record to 4-2.
Although, there is a silver lining in what was a rather gloomy day and outcome in Eugene. The Ducks managed to win two out of the three games against a top ten Stanford squad, a feat they achieved last year taking two of the three in Palo Alto the prior season.
With the loss, Oregon’s record falls to 24-10 overall and 9-6 in conference play. The Ducks will travel up the I-5 for a getaway game against the Portland Pilots Tuesday before preparing for a trip to Berkeley against the California Golden Bears.
Audio Story by Elizabeth Dunning