Entering Sunday, Ducks baseball was optimistic going into Game 3 against Michigan. No. 15 Oregon (22-9, 10-5 Big Ten) won its prior two games this weekend against the Wolverines. They had high hopes of achieving another successful game.
Game 3 started off on a good foot, with Mason Neville slamming a home run for the Ducks in the first inning, putting Oregon in the lead. It was a back-and-forth fight after that.
The second inning had both teams with no runs, each player at bat determined to drive the ball deep into the outfield in hopes of securing a run, or even better, a home run.
But at the top of the third, the Wolverines managed to tie the score with a drive from Colby Turner, with Keegan O’Hearn securing the run from third base. Immediately after that, the same player took a chance to advance to home plate after Cole Caruso hit the ball deep into the outfield and Turner scored another run for Michigan.
However, Oregon answered back at the bottom of the third with Ryan Cooney stealing home and tying up the score at 2-2.
It had been a back-and-forth fight for a while until Michigan managed to get up by four runs while Oregon was still at two. The Ducks had seemed to have lost their momentum and gave the Wolverines ball after ball, not just in the beginning.
“You can always put reasons and excuses,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “There’s no reason or excuses. We didn’t get it done. We left a lot on the table today.”
The fifth inning had seemed to be brighter. One home run and multiple balls driven deep into the outfield gave the Ducks what they needed in order to get ahead of the Wolverines with a 7-6 score. Runs driven in by Dominic Hellman, Chase Meggers, Maddox Molony and Anson Aroz, as well as a home run from Jacob Walsh is what seemed to have put the Ducks back into the game.
“Tremendous game,” Coach Wasikowski said after being asked what he thought of Cooney getting on base five times in this game. “I was very proud of Drew Smith and Cooney. They both had a very good game. He played a tremendous game. Two good at-bats off the bench, I was happy for both of them.”
Right as it was starting to look up for the Ducks, Michigan answered back and managed to secure a home run with the bases loaded, making it a 10-7 game in the sixth. From the sixth inning to the eighth, the Ducks struggled to answer back with Michigan’s energy and plays.
The pitching from Oregon wasn’t on point on Sunday. The Ducks switched many of their pitchers, using a majority of their top pitchers throughout the entire game. Freshman right-handed pitcher Will Sanford and sophomore left-handed pitcher Santiago Garcia were the driving pitchers in the game. Sanford managed to get five strikeouts in four innings pitched while Garcia received three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Though with Garcia and Sanford standing out amongst the pitchers playing this game, many balls had been given up and as a result, gave Michigan the upper hand.
“We didn’t pitch it worth a darn,” Coach Wasikowski said. “The defense was, at times, elite. By and large, I think we could’ve done more with the bats and we for sure could’ve done a lot more on the mound.”
Coach Wasikowski had been ejected from the game at the bottom of the seventh inning after voicing his disagreement with the official’s call — Carter Garate received their second out due to interfering with a runner. This had caused significant uproar among fans and the players, energy being at an all-time high.
By the middle of the eighth inning, Michigan was up five runs to Oregon’s seven. The Wolverines saw an opportunity in Oregon’s weak point in the game and ran with it. With Michigan so far ahead, the game looked already over by the time the next batter for Oregon walked up.
But after witnessing their coach be ejected from the game and a new fire lit underneath them, the Ducks manage to get close to tying it from a home run by Smith, the score 10-12 at the end of the eighth. Energy now seemed to be level with the tension felt in the air. Everything from that point on mattered for a Ducks win.
Oregon managed to shut out Michigan at the beginning of the ninth, receiving all three outs one after another. A home run by Neville puts the Ducks mere inches from tying up the game at 12-11. Even with the home run giving hope to the team and fans, the Wolverines managed to get the upper hand and tag out those loaded on the bases.
Despite their best efforts to rise up to the challenge and come out victorious for the last stretch of the weekend, the Ducks ultimately fell short of their goal.
“We’re going to dive into the tapes and we’re going to assess how we’re using the guys,” Coach Wasikoski said when asked what his plan was to improve for their next upcoming games. “Who we’re using in spots and try to make the decisions based on that. It’s a real issue.”
Albeit winning the series, Oregon baseball still feels the sting of defeat against Michigan.
The Ducks are on to play Maryland for another three-game weekend on the road on April 11 at 3 p.m. ET.