Written Story by Aiden Hess

Following a series win in Westwood over the UCLA Bruins, Oregon baseball entered the day with some momentum as they prepared for the first of a two game midweek set with the Sacramento State Hornets. The Ducks, winners of their last seven out of eight contests, saw their momentum get zapped in the very first inning of the ballgame. 

Michael Freund got the start on the mound for the Ducks as he was coming off his best outing of the season one week ago on the road against Portland. Freund was the winning pitcher as he tossed six innings while allowing three runs, two earned in a quality start and 7-4 victory for Oregon. However, today was quite the contrast as after Freund retired the first batter of the game he proceeded to surrender six straight hits. That would make the score 5-0 Hornets at the time until the ninth man in the order, right fielder Ryan Christiansen drove a 2-run homerun over the fence in right field to give Sac State a 7-0 lead after one half inning of play.

The Ducks would battle back by scoring four runs in the second and even getting the lead for Sac State down to two at 8-6 after four innings were completed. For a moment it felt like Oregon had shifted the pendulum in their favor, but the Hornets regained a comfortable lead after they scratched across three more runs in the fifth aided by two Oregon errors in the inning. From that point on, it was smooth sailing for the visitors from Sac Town as the Hornets struck again for two more in the seventh swelling their lead to 13-6 when the game hit the stretch.

Oregon’s freshman sensation Maddox Malony was able to continue his stretch of excellence he saw in the previous series last weekend against UCLA by crushing a two-run homer into left center field cutting the lead down to five at 13-8. The Hornets were quick to sting back and responded with two more runs in their half of the 9th. The extra insurance for Sac State clipped the Ducks wings as Oregon went down quietly in the bottom of the night and put a final stamp on Tuesday’s ballgame.

Following the loss, Oregon’s record dropped to 22-9 overall and now 13-6 at home. The Ducks will look to earn a split as they return to action at the same time tomorrow evening with first pitch being at 5:05 PM at PK Park.

Audio Story by Wilder Lewis