By Austin Ota

SEATTLE, Wash. – Three home runs, six innings from their Friday starter and a 6-0 lead were not enough for the Ducks. No. 24 Oregon (32-16, 14-11 Pac-12) fell in the opening contest of a three game series against their rivals, the Washington Huskies (19-23-1, 10-15 Pac-12), 7-6.

Following an injury to Washington’s incumbent Friday starter, Jared Engman, the Huskies elected to keep the back half of the weekend rotation the same and give true freshman Max Fraser the Friday nod for the second straight week. After a tough start to his year, Fraser had been dominant of late, featuring a 3.30 ERA in his previous four contests.

He was strong early against the Ducks, retiring the first seven batters he faced, four of which came on the strikeout. 

Enter Maddox Molony.

The freshman, who recently set Oregon’s freshman single-season home run record, added to it in the third. His solo home run to left gave Oregon its first run before the onslaught began. Carter Garate popped up, but Bryce Boettcher blasted a double to right before Mason Neville blasted one to the same spot, but further, leaving the yard to make it 3-0 Oregon.

In the fourth, Bennett Thompson led off with a double. After a stretch where he went just 3-27, his pinch-hit home run against Utah and two hits in the contest against Washington give Oregon reason for optimism from its catcher who entered the season as the cleanup hitter.

Jeffery Heard, who’s starting to heat back up in his own right, would single him home before Drew Smith hit his third home run of the year to make it 6-0, favoring the Ducks.

But after three terrific innings for Oregon’s weekend opener RJ Gordon, the fourth inning got to him. Six of Washington’s first seven batters in the inning reached as the Huskies pushed across four runs. The big blow of the inning came on Jeter Ybarra’s fifth home run of the season.

Oregon failed to capitalize off a leadoff baserunner and two-out double in the sixth, with Bryce Boettcher popping out harmlessly to end the frame.

In the bottom half, Oregon stayed with Gordon after a quick fifth inning. Sitting at just 78 pitches, Gordon induced a harmless flyout to open the inning.

A one-out walk to Cam Ohland was Gordon’s third, and final, of the contest. Each of his walks were five pitches or less. Ahead in the count 1-0, Cooper Whitton planted a Gordon fastball into the lake in left field to tie the game at six.

Three straight singles off Ryan Featherston in the seventh gave Washington its first lead of the contest. 

Back-to-back walks and a sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning had Oregon in good position to, at the very least, tie the game up. But Molony struck out on four pitches and pinch-hitter Justin Cassella popped out to end the inning.

Needing a run in the ninth, the top of Oregon’s lineup went down harmlessly. A warning track fly to the track off the bat of Jacob Walsh secured the deal.

Seven unanswered runs for the Huskies, and Oregon finished with maybe its most frustrating loss of the season. 

The Ducks will try to tie the series on Saturday, with first pitch at 6:05 p.m.