Oregon took the first of a two-game series at PK Park against Texas State 4-3 Tuesday night.

Jeff Gold got the start and went six innings, giving up three earned runs while striking out five. The Ducks again didn’t have loud bats, they collected five hits, but they were effective and took advantage of the two errors committed by TSU. That, paired with decent pitching, was enough to get the win.

Ryon Healy again showed that he is the best Duck offensively in the young season, going 2-4 with a solo home run to left field. The homer was his third of the season, accounting for three of the four Oregon home runs. Healy has been an offensive constant, hitting .375, on a team struggling from the plate.

“Healy keeps just killing the ball, so hopefully some guys can join him,” Horton said. “He is just in the zone, and he’s a good hitter. He was a good hitter when he arrived here and just keeps getting better and better every year. He works very hard on his hitting.”

Duck fans got a surprise in the top of the eighth inning when Christian Jones came in to relieve Garrett Cleavinger with two outs and two on for TSU. Jones hadn’t pitched since Horton started him against Portland two weeks prior as he felt tightness in his throwing arm. Jones struck out the only batter he faced, Brode Boyd, to end the inning.

“Jones hasn’t done a lot of that,” Horton said of Jones coming in to face one batter. “But Christian is awfully good.”

Horton said that he has been cleared by the doctors and will return as a regular reliever.

“He had some tightness so we wanted to have him evaluated,” Horton said. “He got a clean bill of health so it was just a case of when he felt ready to go. He was ready tonight and he will be ready this weekend.”

TSU struck first with an RBI single to right center field from Matt Smith. The Ducks fought back and took the lead in the bottom of the third on an uncanny series of hits just beyond the reach of the TSU outfield. The first of which came on a double from Connor Hofmann, which touched the tip of the glove of the TSU center fielder.

J.J. Altobelli then hit to right field that again touched the glove of the fielder while still being out of grasp. The hit scored Hofmann. Scott Heineman then scored Altobelli on a hit to deep left field that shot no more than a foot out of reach for TSU. Oregon left the inning up 2-1.

Turning Point. Texas State rallyed to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning on a RBI double from Ben McElroy before Healy stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning to blast a solo shot and tie the game. Tyler Baumgartner, who got the start at DH, got on base with a double and was driven in by a single past TSU short stop Garrett Mattlage from Ryan Hambright.

“We have nine hitters in the line up and a bunch of guys on the bench that can all spurt out at any moment,” Healy said. “We took on the motto of ‘pass on the baton’ to steal the track motto. It’s been working for us lately and we’re going to keep it going.”

With help from Jones, the Ducks got out of a possible rally from TSU in the eighth inning and then sent star closer Jimmie Sherfy in to get the save in the ninth.

“It was a no brainer in a one-run game to bring Jimmie in,” Horton said. “Jimmie didn’t have his good slider, but he found a way to get through that inning.”

On the horizon. The Ducks will finish off the series with Texas State tomorrow night at PK Park. Horton has yet to confirm the starter, saying the game will be “pitched by committee.”