Once again, Oregon’s starting pitching took them through seven innings and kept the game close, this time only giving up one run. However, for the second straight night, Oregon’s offense was absent, causing them to lose 1-0 to Rice.
Oregon is now 4-53 at the plate in the regionals, each game only coming up with two hits. Often times, Oregon makes due with limited offense and takes advantage of defensive mistakes and walks but Rice didn’t offer much that the Ducks could use.
“We didn’t get a lot of hits,” said Oregon head coach George Horton. “We didn’t get a lot of hits tonight, we didn’t get a lot of hits last night. Good pitching gets good hitting out. I’m not going to blame our offense and I’m not going to blame our hitters that are going out there. It might look easy to hit from the dugout or stands, but that guy (Stephens) is awfully good.”
Jordan Stephens, the starting pitcher for Rice, threw an incredible game, often times leaning on his curve ball. He went full nine innings with 11 strikeouts, two walks, a hit batter, two hits and no runs. He retired the first 13 batters faced.
“This was the best game of my life so far,” said Stephens after the game.
Rice head coach Wayne Graham said it was the best Stephens’ curve ball has ever looked.
Thorpe also pitched well, going seven innings and allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out four.
The offense, though, left something to be desired. Ryon Healy and Tyler Baumgartner were the only Ducks to get a hit, both going 1-3. Healy got on with a bunt single in the seventh, his first of the year. Baumgartner got on base with a single lined up the middle in the fifth inning. Both failed to score as no Oregon base runner touched third.
“we’re not the greatest hitting team and we’re dinged up,” said Horton. “We’ve got some guys that are in there giving us everything they have and just getting a lot of hits is not necessarily the strength of this team.”
Healy’s bunt single came after a particularly rough at-bat in the fourth inning. Healy took huge swings at the first three pitches thrown, coming up empty each time. On the third swing, Healy got tricked on a great slider from Stephens and struggled to find his footing afterward.
His last at-bat, this one in the ninth with two outs, Healy again took large swings, several times falling to the ground during his follow through.
Horton said after the game that Healy’s at-bats did not cause him to lose any faith in his top hitter.
“Ryon Healy is a really good hitter,” said Horton. “He thinks a lot; he’s not a machine. I don’t think it was a case of Ryon not getting hits because he was over thinking. He’s a very cerebral, intelligent baseball player.”
Turning Point
Rice’s lone run came in the first inning after Ford Stainback hit a lead off single into the gap in right field. Christian Stinger then grounded out before Shane Hoelscher hit an RBI double to score Stainback.
On the Horizon
The road to super regionals now gets extremely difficult for Oregon.
“If we’re going to get this done, we have a lot of work to do,” said Horton.
Oregon will play University of San Francisco Sunday at 12p.m. at PK Park. Freshman Cole Irvin, Oregon’s final weekend starter, will get the start for the Ducks, If they win, they will play Rice again at 4p.m. If they beat Rice, they will have to beat them for a second time on Monday to advance to super regionals.
The biggest concern for the Ducks might quickly change from offense to pitching. Outside of their three weekend starters and their set up-closing duo of Garrett Cleavinger and Jimmie Sherfy, Oregon pitchers have struggled, often times against inferior teams.