An electric opening day win for the Oregon Ducks baseball team did not carry over to Saturday as Toledo took Game 2 of the series 5-3.
Oregon certainly had its chances in this one. In the bottom of the eighth with one out, Toledo held a 4-3 lead but the Ducks had the tying run on third. With junior designated hitter Dominic Hellman at the plate, this seemed like Oregon’s chance as almost anything in play would’ve scored the tying run. Unfortunately, Hellman struck out on a nasty pitch from Toledo reliever Logan Jones. Jones killed the Ducks’ momentum by grounding shortstop Maddox Molony out to third, and Oregon’s best chance at getting back into the game was shut down.
Oregon was coming off a clean 9-2 opening-day win against the Toledo Rockets the night before. Strong pitching held the Rockets to three hits and a late outburst from the offense sealed the win.
The first half of Saturday’s game was a pitchers' duel similar to the day before. Pitchers on both sides held the offenses scoreless until the sixth inning when the Toledo offense broke through for four runs.
Oregon sophomore starting pitcher Collin Clarke dazzled in his season debut, only giving up three hits, one walk and seven strikeouts in five innings of work. Most impressively he was able to maneuver around multiple runners in scoring position in different innings to hold the Toledo score to zero. Those seven strikeouts matched the count from starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell’s day on Friday, as the Ducks starting pitching continues to look solid to start the season.
The bullpen immediately halted the strong day and a half of Oregon pitching. In the top of the sixth, senior relief pitcher Julien Hernandez came in for Clarke. He walked the first two batters he saw, then a fielding error by first baseman Jacob Walsh loaded the bases with nobody out. Toledo jumped on this opportunity, singling in their next at-bat to score two runs. Junior reliever Sam Boyle replaced Hernandez and got an out off a sacrifice bunt that moved runners up. A single scored those two runners and smart base running and contact hitting gave the Rockets a 4-0 lead. Oregon stopped the bleeding after that, but the damage was done.
Bullpens held tight until the bottom of the eighth when Oregon finally woke up. A leadoff bomb from junior center fielder Mason Neville put the Ducks on the board with a hill to climb. A walk and an advancement from a wild pitch put second baseman Drew Smith on second. Walsh then came to the plate and worked another walk, including another wild pitch that moved Smith to third. Catcher Anson Aroz walked as well and the Ducks found themselves with the bases loaded and the tying run on first. Smith came in to score on another wild pitch and right fielder Jeffrey Heard manufactured another off a fielder’s choice. All of a sudden, it was a one-run game.
The hopes of the fans at PK Park were destroyed, though, as Hellman struck out and Molony grounded out to end the inning.
Toledo nabbed an insurance run in the top of the ninth after a walk, single and fielder choice forced one in. Despite the crowd trying to rally Oregon to some magic in the bottom of the ninth, the Ducks went down quickly. Third baseman Carter Garate and pinch hitter Jack Brooks went down swinging and Neville flew out to put Oregon at a 1-1 record on the year.
The only notable offensive performance from Oregon came from Neville, who went 1-5 with a homer and an RBI.
Oregon has another chance against Toledo on Saturday in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Junior starting pitcher Jason Reitz gets the start in the second game.