SEATTLE, WA.- The No. 13 Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies (20-25, 9-14) returned to the ballpark Saturday evening after the Ducks (34-11, 16-6) had a comeback in game one of the series with a 4-3 win.
The Ducks went scoreless in the top of the first and second, and only allowed the Huskies one run per inning after a solo home run by Jackson Hotchkiss and a double by Ethan Swidler. In the third, a triple by Burke-Lee Mabeus moved him into scoring position, which he reached home after a sacrifice fly by Maddox Molony. The Ducks ended the inning trailing by two after an unearned run by Washington, 3-1.
After getting two runners on base in the top of the fourth, Oregon was unable to put them on the board. The Ducks came into the fifth swinging after a double brought Swidler home again to increase the Huskies' lead. Oregon followed up by putting two on the board, after a two-run home run by Molony as Mabeus came home to follow. After a pitching change where Leo Uelmen came in for Collin Clarke, the Huskies were unable to put any runners on base.
In the top of the sixth, Angel Laya and Drew Smith were able to steal bases to put them into scoring position, and after an intentional walk on Mabeus, the Ducks had bases loaded. Molony came up to bat and hit a single to right field, which brought home Smith and Laya.
Oregon brought in Jonah Barkoff from the bullpen as the Ducks came out of the inning still in the lead after three straight strikeouts. The Huskies went scoreless for two straight innings, bringing the score to 4-3.
“The bullpen did a really good job,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “For the bullpen to pick those guys up was tremendous”.
In the top of the seventh, Brayden Jaksa reached first on a single and advanced to second on a single by Cooney. A single by Smith brought Jaksa home, and errors by the Huskies put Cooney and Smith in scoring position. A 396-foot home run by Laya increased the Freshman’s record to 13 in a season and increased the Ducks' lead 9-4.
“It obviously feels good,” Laya said about the home run. “It wasn't my goal going through the season, it was just to help the team win and make it to Omaha and win it.”
The Ducks started the top of the eighth inning hot with another home run by Molony. Another pitching change for Oregon gave Washington its fourth inning in a row without a score. Both teams went scoreless in the ninth, leading to the Ducks pulling out another win in the series.
“It was good to win a series against Washington,” Coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Maddox Molony was obviously special”.
The Ducks will play their final game of the series against the Huskies on Sunday, May 3rd. Oregon will be looking for a clean sweep, while Washington will look to satisfy the home crowd.