By Jonah BruneauE
Eugene, Ore. - Beautiful blue skies casted over PK Park for Senior Day as the Ducks looked to close out the regular season with completing the sweep of the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats. Oregon was successful in doing so as the Ducks took the win on Saturday by the final of 5-3. Certainly, the late-season turnaround was huge for Oregon after suffering six straight losses from May 1 to May 10. They closed out the regular season winning seven of their last eight, including the big win at home against a top 15 team in Gonzaga and of course the series sweep of Arizona.
In this series finale, Jace Stoffal (Freshman) had a career outing as he went seven innings while giving up just one run on three hits to go along with three strikeouts. The seven innings are the most that Stoffal has thrown in one outing in his young Oregon career, going along with a career high in pitches as well (93 total pitches). Rio Britton (Sophomore) and Logan Mercado (Sophomore) made appearances on the mound as well in the eighth inning following the departure of Stoffal, and they were able to get out of the eighth without giving up any runs. Kolby Somers (Senior) came in for the ninth inning to close it down, but it was not exactly smooth sailing for Somers as he gave up two runs on two hits, giving Arizona a sign of life as they were down 5-1 heading into the ninth. Nonetheless, Somers was able to record the final out without giving up the lead and holding onto the win for Oregon. On the offensive side, Tanner Smith (Senior) went 1-4 with a two-RBI double to right center field which gave the Ducks a 3-0 lead at that point. Bennett Thompson (Freshman) and Jacob Walsh (Freshman) each had two hits in the game, with Thompson credited with two RBIs and one for Walsh. Sam Novitske (Senior) got to pinch hit for Brennan Milone in the bottom of the eighth inning, a decision that possibly was influenced by the Senior Day festivities. Novitske did not waste the at-bat as he reached base with a line drive single to left field.
Oregon is now set as the No. 4 seed in the inaugural PAC-12 tournament, which is set to begin on Wednesday May 25 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Ducks will once again be gearing up to take on the Arizona Wildcats (35-21), who will be the No. 5 seed and will have a bit of home-field advantage over Oregon in the opening game of the tournament. That game is set to begin bright and early with first pitch set for 9:00 AM PT.