EUGENE, Ore. — The afternoon for the Oregon Ducks did not get off to the right start, plain and simple. An unexpected scratch, a slow start offensively, and an early deficit to overcome.
A late scratch is never ideal, as sophomore right-hander Cal Scolari had to miss his start with an illness, forcing head coach Mark Wasikowski to turn to a young arm in his absence.
Freshman right-hander Josh Hollis got the nod but was quickly chased after 1⅓ innings. Oregon found itself down 6-1 at the end of the third inning. The score stood all the way to the sixth inning.
Wasikowski rallied his guys, and that’s when it happened. The offense broke out.
A four-run sixth headlined by a three-run bases-clearing double by second baseman Ryan Cooney was the setup for freshman right fielder Angel Laya to walk it off in the ninth with a single to right, leading the Oregon Ducks (17–3, 5–1 Big Ten) to a 7-6 win, and series sweep of the Indiana Hoosiers (7–12, 1–5 Big Ten) at PK Park on Sunday afternoon.
“It means a lot, I’ve been preparing for that moment my whole life,” Laya said. “I’m glad I was able to do it, and do it for the team.”
Shortstop Maddox Molony led off the ninth with a walk and was quickly moved to third with third baseman Drew Smith's double down the left-field line.
Designated hitter Dominic Hellman went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the sixth and drove in the tying run in the eighth.
“It was people setting the table before me that helped turn the lineup around,” Hellman said. “We got dudes all throughout the lineup that can plug and play anywhere.”
Toby Twist, Michael Meckna, and Devin Bell held down the fort by pitching five shutout innings out of the bullpen to set up Laya’s walkoff in the ninth.
Bell (1–1) earned the win for the Ducks.
“[Devin Bell] looked good, Meckna looked good, and Toby Twist looked good,” Wasikowski said. “Those guys looked good, and there were other guys down there that didn’t take their jackets off who were ready to go. There is some depth down there.”
Twist threw three innings in relief, allowing only a hit and a walk, setting it up for Meckna and Bell to close it out.
“It felt really good,” Twist said. “From the start, I’m just trying to get warmed up and ready to go, trying to put my team in the best situation to win the game.”
Smith turned his second 5-3 double play in as many days, catching a Cooper Malamazian liner and throwing out Jake Hanley at first for the twin killer. Smith ended the inning by catching another line drive, off the bat of Caleb Koskie.
“He got rung up on a 3-2 count, and the next thing that happened was that in the next eight hitters that came to the plate, five of the balls were hit in Drew’s direction and he made every one of the plays,” Wasikowski said. “He turned a double play, 5-3 put out, which was a rocket ship, and then he made all the other challenging plays that were hit at him after his most negative point of the game. That’s mental toughness.”
Hogan Denny, Brayden Ricketts, Malamazian, and T.J. Schuyler all collected RBIs for the Hoosiers in the first two frames. Indiana added two more in the third inning on a throwing error by right-hander Tanner Bradley, who relieved Hollis after one out in the second.
Indiana left-hander Brayton Thomas pitched four innings, letting up one run on three hits while striking out five batters. He lowered his season ERA to 2.95.
The Hoosier bullpen pitched four innings and allowed six of the seven runs on eight hits. Michael Sarhatt allowed three runs in the fifth, and was followed by Kaden Jacoby and Jackson Yarberry, who allowed another three runs in the final three innings.
Yarberry (0–2) was charged with the loss.
Oregon rides a six-game win streak into a three-game series against the Northwestern Wildcats back at PK Park on Friday.