After taking game one of the two-game series against Gonzaga the Oregon baseball team’s bats made a statement in Spokane, Wash., Wednesday afternoon. Oregon (21-8) compiled 18 total hits and scored five or more runs in two separate innings en route to a 14-5 victory 0ver the Bulldogs (10-18) to sweep the series.
Oregon starting pitcher Brando Tessar didn’t look good against Gonzaga just a week after his solid start versus San Francisco. Tessar went 2.2 innings and gave up four runs (all earned), one walk and struck out two. Tessar opened the ballgame with a strikeout but the very next batter, Caleb Wood, hit a solo home run to right field to open the scoring.
The Ducks supported their pitcher, though, with five runs in the top of the second. Just like Gonzaga’s run in the bottom of the first, a solo shot put the Ducks on the board. Kyle Garlick hit the solo home run to lead off the inning and tie the game at one.
The Ducks kept the pressure on that inning with singles from Nick Catalano and Mark Karaviotis. With runners on first and second and one out, Aaron Payne was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Then A.J. Balta, the No. 2 hitter in the Oregon lineup for the second straight game, hit a single to left scoring both Catalano and Karaviotis. The Ducks picked up two more thanks to an error by Wood and a sacrifice fly from Mitchell Tolman.
In the bottom of the second, Nick Brooks hit the third solo home run of the game and the second off Tessar. But unlike the first, the Bulldogs kept on producing afterwards. With the bases loaded and one out, Payden Lamb was hit by the pitch to cut the lead to three. Then Jimmy Sinatro hit a sacrifice fly to score the third and final run of the inning.
In bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game at five. With one out and a runner on third, Sam Brown stepped up to the plate. Facing relief pitcher Cooper Stiles, Brown hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Lamb from third. The run was unearned, however, due to a failed pickoff attempt at first that allowed Lamb to get to third.
The biggest scoring barrage came for the Ducks in the top of the fifth, a six-run inning that started with a Garlick single to center. Catalano then bunted, trying to move Garlick to second, and reached base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Sinatro (Garlick scored on the play). Freshman Jack Kruger, with Catalano on third, found a pitch he liked and hit a home run to left. This was Kruger’s first home run as a Duck and the fourth and final home run of the game. Still with no outs in the inning, Ben Brown replaced Will Abram on the mound.
With Karaviotis on second, Aaron Payne hit a ground ball that found a hole on the left side to put runners on the corners. Balta then singled to left, scoring Karaviotis from third and moving Payne to second. Following a hit-by-pitch to Tyler Baumgartner to load the bases, Mitchell Tolman grounded into a double play, allowing Payne to score. The Bulldogs went to the bullpen again in the inning, giving the ball to Wyatt Mills. Shaun Chase then stepped into the box with two outs and a runner on third. Chase got the job done for the Ducks, hitting a single through the right side to score Balta.
In the fifth, the Ducks scored six runs on six hits and one error, turning a tie game into a blowout.
The Ducks added three more runs in the game to win by a final of 14-5. In total, the Ducks collected 18 hits and struck out just three times in the game, but Oregon did surrender two errors defensively.
The Ducks begin their series against No. 14 Washington on Friday at 7 p.m. in Seattle, Wash.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3