Coverage by Mario Ponce and Saul Galvan
Written story by Saul Galvan
The Ducks displayed dominance on the mound and in the lineup, cruising to a 17-3 victory over Lafayette in game 1 of the series. The last time Oregon played at PK Park, their run at a College World Series was terminated by Oral Roberts. This time around, the Ducks had full control from the start, scoring in every inning and limiting offense opportunities for the Leopards.
Every starter in the lineup got a hit and multiple players had more than one RBI. Veteran Jacob Walsh led the offense with 2 hits and 3 RBIs. One of those hits was a home run and the first home run of the season for Oregon. It didn’t take long for the Ducks’ second home run to occur. Newcomer, Ryan Cooney launched a solo shot in the fifth inning and was his collegiate career home run. Chase Meggers, who didn’t get an a-bat last weekend, made use of his opportunity in the lineup today. Meggers had only one hit but was able to drive in 3 runs and get on base 3 other times via walks. “I’ve been training hard for this moment,” said Meggers. “It was awesome for me to see that I just helped out the team”. Not only were the Ducks putting the bat on the ball, but also stayed patient at the plate. Meggers, Smith, and Cooney all combined for six walks. The whole lineup went into deep counts on most at-bats. The slugging show was on full display and should be expected for the rest of the series.
The pitching from Oregon was also dominant, limiting the Leopards to just three runs and six hits. RJ Gordon got the start for the second Friday in a row. He pitched six innings, allowing one earned run and just three hits. Gordon had not pitched at PK since 2022 due to a season-ending injury last year. “Goal of mine was to be the opening day starter, and now I can cross that one off the list,” said Gordon. Oregon used three other pitchers to finish the game including Clake, Umlandt, and Stokes. All three guys threw one inning and allowed a combined two runs to close it out. With another solid pitching performance from Gordon, he may have solidified himself as the “Friday guy” moving forward.
Despite the excellent performance from the lineup and pitching, Head Coach Wasikowski wasn’t exactly impressed. “I thought we were fine tonight; I wouldn’t say it was an awesome performance It was probably a solid B performance,” said Wasikowski post-game. “To come out with a win is always the objective”. Oregon came into the series a heavy favorite after Lafayette was swept last weekend by East Tennessee State. The Leopards failed to score more than seven runs in that series and lost by a combined margin of 55-13 in those three games. Oregon will look to continue their dominance again tomorrow in games 2 and 3 of the series. Grayson Grinsell will start game 2 while freshman Toby Twist is set to start game 3.
Audio Story by Mario Ponce