More history was made at PK Park during the series finale of the top-25 matchup between the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (27-11, 14-7 Big Ten) and the No. 10 UCLA Bruins (29-10, 13-5 Big Ten). In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore second baseman Ryan Cooney and junior third baseman Carter Garate singled to put runners on first and second. Down 4-3, the Ducks needed a spark to avoid back-to-back losses to this Bruins squad. With junior center fielder Mason Neville at the plate ahead in the count 2-1, the history books were ready to be rewritten as he slaughtered the next pitch deep to right field. This made Neville the single-season home run king in Ducks history.
Neville led the way for the Oregon offense today, going 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
“Feels good,” Neville said. “Went into the game not thinking about it too much. I just went in there after yesterday and wanted to win. I kind of blacked out a little bit. It was a big spot in the game, and so I was trying to do what I could to help my team win.”
Oregon stumbled into this match coming off a run-rule 14-4 defeat to the same UCLA team the day before. In that game, Neville bombed a lead-off solo shot in the bottom of the first inning. That home run tied the single-season home run record in Oregon history.
Junior right-handed starter Jason Reitz got the start for Oregon today with a 2:02 p.m. first pitch.
After both sides went scoreless in the first, the Ducks struck first by way of some fundamentals. Junior right fielder Drew Smith got the action started as he poked a single to left field. On the next at-bat, Oregon put on the hit and run as Smith took off and junior left fielder Anson Aroz slapped a single to left field. Smith was able to move up to third, and the runners were on the corners with nobody out for the Ducks.
Sophomore shortstop Maddox Molony then found the gap in the infield as he singled to left, scoring Smith from third. Freshman catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus got fired up as he laid the perfect bunt down the left field line and advanced both of the runners. The small ball would pay off as Cooney put one in play, and Aroz scored from third off the fielder’s choice. A groundout ended the inning, and it was 2-0 Ducks.
UCLA cut the lead in half at the top of the third as a hit by pitch and a double off the wall from sophomore left fielder Dean West put runners on second and third. One came across off a fielder's choice as sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky knocked one in play and scored the runner from third.
The Bruins kept that energy channeled in the top of the fourth when sophomore third baseman Roman Martin blasted one deep to center field. The ball sailed over the wall and smacked off the batter's eye, and it was 2-2 and a new game at PK Park.
This wouldn’t be it for UCLA in this frame. A single and a double put runners back on second and third, and the Bruins converted after a fielder's choice scored senior center fielder AJ Salgado. Sophomore second baseman Phoenix Call then hit a grounder to Molony that should’ve ended the frame, but Molony let it slip past his glove, and another run came across. After the sloppy play settled, it was 4-2, Bruins.
Aroz would get one of those right back after he launched the first pitch deep to right field in a similar spot to Neville’s homer on Saturday. This was Aroz’s 11th of the season.
Back-to-back singles from Cooney and Garate put runners on first and second. Like a moth to the flame, Neville would bring them all around to score after he blistered a pitch that soared over the wall and gave Oregon the 6-4 lead.
Junior left-handed reliever Ian Umlandt replaced Reitz (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks,97 TP) in the top of the sixth.
UCLA drew within one in the top of the sixth after a walk and a single put runners on first and second, then a double down the right field line from West drove in the runner from second.
The equalizer came for the Bruins in the eighth when back-to-back singles from Call and West put two runners on. The next batter was Cholowsky, who singled to score the runner from second. After another single that loaded the bases, Umlandt (2.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K,69 TP) was pulled for senior right-handed reliever Seth Mattox.
The bottom of the eighth displayed a moment that rocked the PK Park crowd and pumped electricity into the Ducks squad. On the first pitch of the inning, freshman catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus got a hold of a pitch the opposite way to left field. Fans' eyes darted back and forth from the fielder to the ball to see if it would hang up for an out, but the ball snuck over the wall and gave Oregon the 7-6 lead. Mabeus rounded the bases and was greeted at home with a mob of charged-up Ducks.
“I wasn’t sure, they have a pretty talented left fielder out there,” Mabeus said. “I saw he got a decent jump on it, and I was thinking maybe a hustle double or something like that. I wasn’t so sure it went over. I was looking at the umpires to see if they were going to tell me it was over. I think I found out rounding second.”
Major insurance runs came through for Oregon when a walk from Garate, a double from Neville and a junior designated hitter Dominic Hellman hit by pitch, loaded the bases. Senior first baseman Jacob Walsh then blooped a single to right center field and pumped up the crowd as Garate and Neville flew around to the plate. The Ducks weren’t done, though, as Smith slapped one deep enough to center to score freshman pinch runner Jax Gimenez off the sac-fly. When the dust settled, it was 10-6, Oregon. The crew was three outs away.
Mattox got the nod to close it out, and he came through. A fly out and a ground out notched the first two outs, but a walk extended the game. This proved to be no threat, though, as the next batter flew out, and the Ducks secured the 10-6 victory and the major top-10 series win.
“Our guys aren’t in the best mood right now,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “These guys are playing really good, they’ve got a good record, been in the top-25, but they think that they’re better than that. Very simply, I don’t have a clubhouse with a bunch of happy guys right now. They just think they’re better than their record.”
Walsh also made his mark in the statsheet today, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Ducks will spin right back around to PK Park for a midweek battle against the unranked Portland Pilots. Oregon looks to get revenge against that Pilots team that beat them in walk-off fashion on Apr. 2. Their second matchup will take place Tuesday at 5:05 p.m.