As the rain began to clear, cheers erupted from the stands as the baseball soared through the air and out of the park, signaling a Ducks homerun. Oregon infielder Maddox Molony hit the Ducks’ first and only homerun of the 6-1 win late in the eighth, clearing the bases as the Toledo Rockets could only watch.
The No. 12 Ducks (3-1) entered the game following a 9-0 win on Saturday against the Toledo Rockets (1-3). Oregon kicked the season off with a 2-1 home record having only lost one game against the Rockets this weekend. The Ducks broke a home game record of seven home runs in one game on Saturday, setting a new record.
Oregon started the top of Sunday’s first inning strong, getting three outs only eight minutes into the game. At the bottom of the inning, the Ducks put themselves on the scoreboard first with a run from Mason Neville, leading the Rockets by one.
The Ducks continued their lead by the end of the second inning, increasing the score gap by four. Players Molony, Jack Brooks and Carter Garate scored Oregon's three runs in the second. But Toledo managed to score a run at the top of the third, shortening the gap by three. Rockets player JP Wagner finally put Toledo on the scoreboard.
RHP Will Sanford, a freshman, had an amazing first half of the game. With six strikeouts, three walks, two hits and one run in the first four innings, he aided his team in their four-score lead. The Ducks switched Sanford with Kellan Knox, another RHP, to start the fifth then Knox with Santiago Garcia, a LHP, at the top of the seventh.
“I’ll be critical and say he was just okay,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said when asked about Sanford’s performance. “I like Will’s competitiveness. He finished his last inning with three strikeouts. He wasn’t as good as we’ve seen him, but, obviously, he’s a special talent.”
Throughout the entire game, Oregon managed to keep a four-score lead. After the Rockets scored one run in the third, the Ducks answered back with a run from Jacob Walsh after Ryan Cooney took a pitch to the shoulder, their gap going from 4-1 to 5-1.
From innings four to eight, the Ducks managed to fight off the Toledo Rockets and keep them at one run. It was a back-and-forth battle between the Ducks and the Rockets to see who could score first as the game progressed, neither team being able to get a run. But, Molony managed to break the scoreless streak and hit a home run, the first and last of the game. Oregon went on to win the game 6-1 after the conclusion of the bottom of the ninth.
“Seemed like a complete game to me. The guys played well,” Coach Wasikowski said. “They played good defense. The pitching was solid from start to finish. It was nice to extend the lead late in the game. I thought it was a complete game.”
The Ducks had an amazing weekend playing against Toledo, now 3-1 this season. Oregon’s next home game is against Rhode Island on Friday and Saturday where it hopes to continue its win streak.