The Ducks rallied in the ninth and even loaded the bases, but couldn’t overcome eight offensively anemic innings, falling to Washington 1-0.
After Aaron Payne and A.J. Balta were sat down to start the top of the ninth, Oregon was down to its final out against Huskies closer Troy Rallings. Tyler Baumgartner kept hope alive with a chopper that bounced over the head of third baseman Alex Schmidt for a single. Baumgartner stole second with Mitchell Tolman at bat, who would ultimately draw a walk to make the steal moot. Kyle Garlick hit a dribbler off the mound that rolled to a stop midway between the mound and second base, resulting in an infield single. With the bases loaded and two outs, pinch hitter Shaun Chase struck a hard line drive to left, but it fell harmlessly into the glove of left fielder Kyle London.
The Ducks totaled five hits in the game, two of which came in the ninth. Washington pitchers struck out 12 Oregon hitters, 10 coming courtesy of starting pitcher Tyler Davis (6-1), who tossed 7.2 innings with three hits allowed.
Oregon starter Matt Krook was in control before leaving the game in the third inning with an apparent injury. According to the Oregonian’s Tyson Alger, Krook “had stiffness in his throwing arm,” which head coach George Horton cited as the reason for Krook’s early departure. Over 2.1 innings pitched, Krook allowed zero runs on one hit with four strikeouts.
Trent Paddon (0-2) pitched well in long relief, yielding a run on a single hit with two walks and three strikeouts but was saddled with the loss. Paddon came in for Krook and walked Andrew Ely, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Robert Pehl.
Oregon had runners in scoring position in the fifth and eighth innings but they were stranded as Davis continued his dominant performance.
Washington was on the verge of expanding its lead in the eighth. Jordan Spencer retired the first two hitters in order before walking Pehl to keep the Huskies’ inning alive. Porter Clayton replaced Spencer and immediately struggled, allowing pinch runner London to reach third base on a failed pick off attempt that got away from Balta at first base. Brian Wolfe walked and Trevor Mitsui was plunked to load the bases. Horton then called on Stephen Nogosek, who got Branden Berry to fly out.
The Ducks (22-9, 7-4 Pac-12) and Huskies (21-6, 9-3) will conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon. With the win, Washington retains its position atop the conference.
Follow Madison Guernsey on Twitter @guernseymd