An all-time performance was at stake during the No. 16-ranked Oregon Ducks’ (26-10, 13-6 Big Ten) showdown series opener against the No. 10 UCLA Bruins (28-9, 12-4 Big Ten). Left-handed starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell was through 7 ⅔ innings and was hungry for the eighth. He got ahead in the count 0-2, then dished an off-speed pitch that dropped from the sky and had the batter flailing. It was strikeout number six for Grinsell, and the PK Park crowd was roaring as their ace was three outs away from a two-hit complete game.
Junior designated hitter Dominic Hellman led the way for the Oregon offense, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBIs.
“I got a good support system behind me,” Hellman said. “Trusting my work, sticking with my process, and the boys picking me up, I like to give my personal accolades to my team. Kind of shows how we all get after it at practice.”
The Ducks stepped into this series coming off a dominant 12-1 road win against the Georgetown Hoyas. In that game, another name was added to the long list of Oregon players to hit a home run this season when junior third baseman Carter Garate smashed a grand slam that propelled the Ducks up to that dozen mark on the day. That victory made it three wins in the last four games for Oregon.
The game quickly steered in the direction of a pitchers’ duel after Grinsell and UCLA freshman right-handed starter Wylan Moss held both offenses scoreless in the third. The Ducks broke through first in the bottom of the inning as sophomore second baseman Ryan Cooney singled to left field, then stole second after dancing by multiple pick-off attempts from Moss. The aggressive baserunning paid off after Hellman roped one to the same spot as Cooney and flew around to score, giving the Ducks the early lead.
Scoring continued to come at a premium until the bottom of the sixth, when Hellman got involved again, this time by way of the long ball. On a 1-0 count, Hellman took advantage of the left-handed pitching matchup and blasted the ball to the left-center field parking lot. This was Hellman’s 10th homer of the year, and it was 2-0 Ducks.
That lead would quickly be cut in half by the Bruins as sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky got a hold of one that just snuck out over the left field wall. After two pitches, the lead was cut in half in the seventh.
That lead was almost sliced entirely in that same inning after senior center fielder AJ Salgado gave it a ride to right field. Fans at PK Park groaned and geared up for a new game as the ball had eyes for the Oregon bullpen. Junior right fielder Drew Smith had other plans, though, as he leaped, stuck his glove up and made the catch to take away what would’ve been a massive homer. Instead, the frame was iced by Smith.
Grinsell continued to be efficient as he stepped into the ninth inning at 92 pitches and three outs away from the first nine-inning complete game from a Duck since Kevin Seitter on Jun. 2, 2024. That game was a 3-0 victory against UC Santa Barbara.
This last complete game was the contest played last Tuesday, the 12-1 victory against Georgetown, where junior left-handed pitcher Ian Umlandt threw a seven-inning complete game due to the run rule.
Grinsell delivered. A strikeout, a ground out, and a clean play made by sophomore shortstop Maddox Molony closed out the spectacular effort from Grinsell.
Grinsells final line: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
“As a starting pitcher, it’s what you want,” Grinsell said. “You want to go out there and throw all nine. You go out there, it’s what you try to do every time, and today was my lucky day.”
Also contributing to the Oregon offense was Smith, who went 2-for-3 in his unusual cleanup right field outing.
“He’s just a different kind of hitter than some of the other guys,” said Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski. “Some of the other guys are bigger swings, but when you face really high-quality pitching, a lot of times it just turns into a base hit. Drew does that and does it really well. He can hit.”
Oregon will play Game 2 of this series right back at PK Park on Saturday, Apr. 18, at 2:05 p.m.