Oregon broke past a pesky Seattle team in an 12-7 road victory Tuesday night with help from freshman Mitchell Tolman who had a career night.
Tolman hit 3-4, driving in seven runs. The seven RBI were the most in a single game by a Duck since the talented Jack Marder drove in eight in the 2010 season.
Tolman didn’t do it all though. Ryon Healy went 2-3 with three RBI, and Aaron Payne and Ryan Hambright both chipped in a couple of hits as well.
Oregon did as they have all season in mid-week games with a pitch-by-committee approach. Jeff Gold got the start but only went two innings before Christian Jones was called in for relief. Jones pitched just one inning, giving up two runs on three hits, before Darrell Hunter came in to pitch the fourth and fifth. Derek Smith closed out the final three innings, shutting Seattle out and allowing just three hits.
Oregon inevitably came out with the win, but it wasn’t pretty. The Ducks gave up seven runs on 12 hits to a far inferior Seattle team and again struggled defensively. After leading the nation in fielding percentage for much of the season, Oregon has steadily dropped in the rankings over the past two weeks. Tuesday was no exception, with the Ducks committing three errors.
Turning Point. After being down 5-2, Seattle responded with a three run third inning to tie the game. Oregon battled back in the fourth with two outs, with Healy and Tolman combining to drive in three runs and give Oregon an 8-5 lead.
Oregon added four more insurance runs, two in the sixth and two in the eighth, to stave off Seattle and get the win.
On the Horizon. Oregon and Seattle will go head-to-head again Wednesday at 4p.m.