Oregon baseball saved its season with a 5-4 walk-off win against No. 2 UCLA Saturday night at PK Park.
After having the winning run erased in the tenth inning on a close call, Phil Craig-St. Louis hit a game-winning RBI single in the eleventh to seal the deal, and keep Oregon’s postseason hopes alive.
The Ducks (36-23, 15-14) headed into the contest ranked No. 66 in the RPI and, according to several national pundits, had to win both of their final regular season games against the Bruins (42-13, 22-7) to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament.
With their backs against the wall, the Ducks overcame another late deficit to outlast the Bruins in extra frames.
“We showed great mental toughness,” Oregon head coach George Horton said. “For us, it’s a super regional. To win a game like that, and not roll over … speaks volumes about where my club’s at.”
Oregon thought it won the game on a sacrifice-fly from Kyle Kasser, but Mitchell Tolman, who was tagging up from third, looked to leave the bag a tick too early, and the Bruins turned a game-saving double play to retire the side.
The Ducks were able to salvage their miscue in the next half-inning, when Craig-St. Louis scored Shaun Chase on a walk-off ground ball single to right.
Before Craig-St. Louis ended the game, the Ducks got another big at bat from an unlikely power hitter, shortstop Mark Karaviotis.
It took him 300 at bats, but the sophomore from Maui chose the perfect time to hit his first career home run.
After UCLA’s Brett Stephens hit a three-run bomb off Cooper Stiles in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead, Karaviotis shot back with a three-run round-tripper of his own in the bottom half to regain the lead.
The Bruins were able to tie the game off against Stephen Nogosek in the eighth, but couldn’t push across the go-ahead run.
Garrett Cleavinger (5-2) picked up the win after 2.2 innings of scoreless relief in extra frames.
The win would not have been possible without the efforts of Oregon’s starter David Peterson. The lefty posted a career-high tying nine strikeouts, allowing just one earned run on four hits and two walks in 6.0 innings pitched.
Peterson successfully dueled one of the best lefties in the country, Grant Watson, who came into the game fourth ranked in the Pac-12 in ERA. Watson was able to manage his pitch count a bit better than Peterson, however and lasted 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
UCLA’s Grant Dyer (4-1) dropped his first decision of the year despite pitching 3.2 solid innings and facing 19 batters out of the bullpen.
So the Ducks live to fight another day. If they win tomorrow’s rubber match with the Bruins, they’ll all but guarantee themselves an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lose, and they’ll be at the mercy of their sub-.500 conference record and the selection committee.
Josh Graham (4-1, 2.70) will get the biggest start of his career Sunday afternoon. First pitch of the regular-season finale is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at PK Park.