Written Story by Ty Goss
Looking to finish a potential sweep against the Lafayette Leopards, the Oregon Ducks came into today riding high off of a string of three-straight victories with a 5-1 record.
Taking the mound to start for the Ducks was Kevin Seitter, a senior transfer from Quinnipiac starting for the second time this season, recording three earned runs and two strikeouts in four innings pitched.
The game would swing in Oregon’s favor fast, as they would score one run in the first inning off of a wild pitch, followed by a flurry of runs in the second inning as the Ducks brought five across. These runs would come courtesy of Chase Meggers and Carter Garate singles, with Jeffrey Heard recording a double to notch a run batted in of his own.
Seitter would have a dominant day on the bump which started with him shoving in the early innings, recording eight strikeouts in his first five while allowing two earned runs, one of which came off of a home run to left field.
The Ducks would experience a batting drought after the bottom of the second, failing to record another run until the fifth inning where Ryan Cooney would open the offense back up with a deep left-field solo shot, bringing his home run total to two on the year. Jack Brooks would pose a threat to score later in the inning after advancing on wild pitches, but he would ultimately be stranded on third after Justin Cassella flew out to center field.
Seitter would end his day with another three-strikeout inning against Lafayette in the sixth, recording a final tally of 11 strikeouts, the highest total for a single-game Oregon pitcher since 2021.
Coming in for Seitter would be Brock Moore, a flamethrower reliever who wowed the crowd with his triple-digit fastballs while striking out two and holding the Panthers to no runs in the inning.
As the final nail in the coffin, Bryce Boettcher would launch a 404-foot moonshot off his bat in the bottom of the seventh, driving in three runs for his first homer of the season. Later in the inning, Anson Aroz would record an RBI as he drove in Cassella with a single.
It would be a quiet rest of the game for both teams, as Jackson Jordan would toss three strikeouts in one inning for the Ducks and Turner Spoljaric would close the game out with a clean ninth inning.
In the end, Oregon would complete their sweep against Lafayette with a 12-2 victory, improving to 6-1 on the year as they look to pivot toward their UC Santa Barbara series which begins on March 1st.