Stanford Snaps Oregon's 8 Game Winning Streak in Game 2 of Critical Late Season Series

Story by Justin Grossweiner

Looking to move closer to securing a regular season PAC-12 title the Oregon Ducks fell to 17th ranked Stanford 6-5 on Saturday afternoon. Although starting pitcher Cullen Kafka allowed five runs total only two of the were earned for him in 4 and 1/3rd innings of work.

Oregon took the early lead in the 1st inning on a Josh Kasevich single with two outs. In the 3rd inning Stanford struck back with a rally of their own. A fielding error by Grant, a hit by Tim Tawa, and a walk by Brock Jones set up a wild pitch by Kafka to score the first of three unearned runs for Stanford in the Inning. Those other two runs came from a Christian Robinson single, the only hard hit ball of the inning, and Stanford took the 3-1 advantage. It didn't take long for Oregon to respond in the bottom half of the inning. Tanner Smith led off with single for the Ducks, and that was followed by a towering two run home run by Kenyon Yovan. Later in the inning Josh Kasevich drove in Aaron Zavala with a sacrifice fly to give the Ducks the lead once again.

Following the Ducks rally the Cardinal scored one run in the next three innings while holding Oregon scoreless during that time. Drew Bowser homered in the 4th inning and added on a double in the 5th. Tim Tawa greeted Ducks' reliever Issac Ayon with a leadoff home run in the 6th, but after allowing that run Ayon kept the Ducks in the game only allowing 1 run in his 4 innings of work. His work out of the bullpen gave Oregon a chance heading into the later innings.

Down by two runs in the 8th with two outs Anthony Hall singled in Zavala to make it a 6-5 game and give the Ducks some life offensively. In the 9th inning Oregon put the tying run on base, but Tanner Smith and Kenyon Yovan couldn't pull through with one more big hit.

Oregon moves to 35-12 overall, and 18-8 in the PAC-12 on the season after losing for the first time in 8 games. With the loss Oregon moves below Arizona for 2nd place in the conference by winning percentage, depending on Arizona's matchup with Oregon State this evening. The Ducks will look to rebound tomorrow at 12 PM Pacific Time for game 3 at PK Park.

Postgame Audio:

Audio Story by Justin Grossweiner: