The rubber match of Oregon baseball’s road series versus Washington came down to the 10th inning, where both teams picked up a crooked number. But the Huskies (22-6-1, 9-2 Pac-12) posted the bigger number, walking off in a 5-4 win.

Jake Reed took the mound to start the bottom of the 10th inning after the Ducks scored two runs in the top half to take a 4-2 lead. But Reed got in trouble immediately, loading the bases with no outs. Horton then called upon Darrell Hunter to replace Reed in the tight situation. Braden Bishop was at the plate and hit a ground ball to Mitchell Tolman at third who threw home to get the force out at the plate.

The bases were still loaded, however, with one out for Andrew Ely. The second baseman delivered, doubling to right field to clear the bases and end the game.

Oregon starter Jeff Gold went eight innings, giving up two runs (both earned) and four hits while striking out four. Gold gave the ball to Garrett Cleavinger in the ninth in the tie game after the Ducks failed to get Gold a run in the top of the ninth to set him up for the win.

Oregon opened the scoring in the second with two runs, but no Duck was credited with an RBI.

Tolman hit a double to left center to lead off the inning, and he moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Shaun Chase. J.B Bryant was next up and got drilled by the pitch. With Kyle Garlick at the plate, Washington starting pitcher Jeff Brigham threw a wild pitch that scored Tolman from third. Then, Bryant advanced to third on a groundout from Garlick. Nick Catalano came up next and worked a two-out walk to create a first and third situation. With Mark Karaviotis at the plate Bryant and Catalano completed a double steal, scoring Oregon’s second run. Karaviotis would strike out later in his at-bat to end the inning.

Gold and the Ducks held the 2-0 lead until the sixth, when the Huskies were able to tie the game. With two outs and no Huskies on base, Bishop and Ely singled consecutively to start the two-out rally. Robert Pehl then singled through the left side to score Bishop from second. Then on a throwing error from Chase, Ely advanced to third. Brian Wolfe then doubled to right field in the two-out situation to score Ely but Pehl was held at third and would be stranded there.

It would remain a 2-2 game after nine innings. The left-hander Cleavinger came in the ninth for the Ducks but gave the ball to righty Jake Reed to finish the inning.

In the 10th, freshman Austin Grebeck doubled to right field to lead off the inning. Garlick then sacrificed Grebeck over to third for Catalano coming up. But Catalano was hit by the pitch putting runners on the corners with one out. With the go-ahead run on third, Steven Packard pinch hit for Karaviotis. Packard cameoff the bench and singled through the right side to score Grebeck from third (Catalano reached third on the play). Aaron Payne struck out for the second out of the inning before Balta stepped up to the plate. Balta singled to right field scoring Catalano from third. The two runs were all the Ducks could manufacture in extra innings, and they proved to be not enough.

The Huskies took the final two games of the three-game series. The Ducks play next on Tuesday against Portland at PK Park at 6 p.m.

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The No. 19 Oregon baseball team went into its weekend road series against No. 14 Washington trailing the Huskies by two games in the conference standings. The Ducks (22-8, 7-3 Pac-12) would get a game closer to the top of the standings after their 10-3 Friday in Seattle, Wash.

Tommy Thorpe (3-3, 3.07 ERA) got the ball to start the very important conference series and he was up to the task.Thorpe pitched 5.2 innings, giving up just one run (earned) and striking out six hitters.

Both teams got on the board in the second inning with one run apiece. In the top of the inning, Kyle Garlick came up with one out, Shaun Chase on second and Mitchell Tolman on third. Garlick hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Tolman. In the bottom half of the inning, the Huskies (20-6, 8-2) answered quite quickly. After Thorpe hit the leadoff man Brian Wolfe, Wolfe advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Then Alex Schmidt singled through the left side to score Wolfe.

The very next inning two Ducks crossed the plate to take the lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the game.

It began with Mark Karaviotis reaching base via a walk and advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Payne. After A.J. Balta flied out to right field, Karaviotis was gifted third base due to a balk by Washington starting pitcher Jared Fisher. Tyler Baumgartner then walked to give the Ducks a two outs, runners on first and third scenario for Mitchell Tolman. Tolman delivered, hitting a double to left to score them both.

In the sixth, Kyle Garlick was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out ahead of Nick Catalano. That walk ended up backfiring because Fisher promptly walked Catalano to scored Tolman from third.

Fisher was then replaced in the middle of the inning by Will Ballowe. Ballowe opened his night against Karaviotis in the bases loaded situation. Ballowe found the strike zone but also found Karaviotis’ bat as Karaviotis hit a sacrifice fly to left.

Darrell Hunter came in relief for Thorpe and pitched a clean 1.2 innings, including striking out the side in order in the seventh. Then in the eighth Hunter allowed a couple of hits and a walk to load the bases. Oregon head coach George Horton then went to the bullpen, bringing in Garrett Cleavinger.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Cleavinger walked Braden Bishop. Then, second baseman Andrew Ely stepped into the box representing the tying run. Like Bishop, Ely worked a walk. Robert Pehl, Washington’s three hitter who is tied for second in the conference for home runs (3), stepped in with a chance to take the lead with one swing of the bat. But Cleavinger would strike out Pehl to end the threat and the inning.

In the ninth, the Ducks made a statement scoring four runs on five hits in route to take the first game of the series. The Ducks won by a final of 10-3.

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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.

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Of all the Oregon baseball players who left after last season, none was more talked about than star first baseman Ryon Healy. A third-round draft pick in last year’s MLB draft, Healy was the most feared hitter in Oregon’s lineup. Alongside Healy was Brett Thomas, who was drafted in the 21st round by the Mariners, and J.J. Altobelli, an 18th round draft pick by the Cardinals. Those three were Oregon’s key losses offensively.

Healy, in his final season, hit .333 with 11 home runs, 56 RBIs and 20 doubles in all but five of Oregon’s 2013 games. Thomas was also reliable at bat, hitting .317 with 15 doubles and 28 RBIs. Finally Altobelli, who was a defensive star at shortstop, hit .276 with 24 RBIs and played in every single game last season.

This year the Ducks don’t have Healy or a player like him in the lineup. But this year, Oregon has tough outs up and down the order. More than last year, the Ducks have the ability to count on hitters lower in the lineup.

One of the reasons the Ducks’ lineup is so strong throughout is because of the constant development of players. As a freshman last year, Mitchell Tolman compiled 165 at bats hitting .315 with 37 RBIs. This year A.J. Balta, Austin Grebeck and Mark Karaviotis have made their names known as freshmen.

Balta has stood out the most of the freshmen since becoming a regular starter after Scott Heineman injured left shoulder on a swing against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 23 and re-injured it on March 14 against USC, forcing him to undergo season-ending surgery. Balta, while hitting just .250 on the season, has two home runs, including a grand slam and 16 RBIs — third highest of the team.

With Tolman hitting similarly to his freshman campaign (a team-high 26 RBIs on the season) and Oregon now with a healthy Kyle Garlick and an improved Tyler Baumgartner, the Ducks have a tenacious middle of the lineup. This is without Heineman, who hit .278 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 38 RBIs a year ago as a sophomore. Between Baumgartner, Tolman, Garlick and Balta — Oregon’s 3-6 hitters — the Ducks have manufactured 56.6 percent of Oregon’s RBIs (77) on the season.

The remaining two spots in the lineup have been open to competition. But that isn’t to say there is a lack of production. In left field, Nick Catalano (.263 batting average) and J.B. Bryant (.289 batting average, 10 RBIs) have been in the race to attain the position. At catcher, Shaun Chase is hitting 116 points higher (.323) and Josh Graham is hitting 91 points higher (.238) than a season ago. Freshman Jack Kruger has the most at-bats from the catchers, likely due to his defensive abilities, with 34 but is hitting just .206.

The balance and growth of each class has made this Oregon lineup as strong, if not stronger, as last year’s. With Pac-12 play starting to pick up, the Ducks will have to battle in order to keep up the production they have managed so far.

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After losing Tuesday’s game 8-4, the Oregon baseball team (18-6) responded well in Wednesday’s game. After a delayed start from early rain, the Ducks got an early lead over San Francisco (12-10) and continued to manufacture runs throughout the game, scoring in six of the nine innings in a 12-5 victory.

The Ducks were all over the base paths in the opening inning, scoring five runs, but not because of a rally started by multiple hits. In fact, the Ducks had just one hit in the entire inning. USF starting pitcher Jordan Haseltine went just 0.1 innings after allowing six of the first seven hitters on base. Haseltine walked the first three Ducks he saw. Then, with bases loaded and no outs, Haseltine drilled Mitchell Tolman, allowing the first run of the game to be scored. Then, with one out, freshman A.J. Balta hit a hard ground ball in between shortstop Nico Giarratano and third baseman Bob Cruikshank. Nick Catalano then walked, taking Haseltine out of the game.

Haseltine would be replaced by lefty Matt Narahara. Narahara didn’t do much better in the first, walking Jack Kruger to score Tolman from third. Then A.J. Balta took off for home on a wild pitch. The ball rolled up the backstop, giving Balta extra time to slide in safely ahead of the tag. Narahara buckled down for the remainder of the inning, leaving two runners on base. Haseltine would be charged for all five runs that came across in the inning.

“We’ll take it,” head coach George Horton said. “To get a five that gets you out to a good start and then the bounce-back effort to get a win is a good deal.”

In the bottom of the first, the Dons started to chip away. Giarratano started the two-run rally with a single up the middle. Then USF’s star player Bradley Zimmer continued to swing a hot bat, ripping a double to right field. With runners now on second and third, Derek Atkinson singled up the middle to score both runners.

Entering the top of the fourth the Ducks held a 6-2 lead. To lead off the inning Aaron Payne hit a very high fly ball that carried out to right field. Drifting back to the wall, USF right fielder Atkinson jumped up trying to bring Payne’s fly ball back into play but the ball sneaked just over Atkinson’s glove and the wall. This was Payne’s second career home run as a Duck — his last home run came on May 20, 2012.

“I was kinda around the corner, so I saw him hit it and then just saw the reaction,” Horton said.

Payne passed “his good old buddies,” Horton said, in Brett Hambright and J.J. Altobelli in career home runs — Hambright and Altobelli only had one.

Horton gave the ball to Brando Tessar to start Wednesday’s game. Tessar gave Horton and the Ducks five innings, allowing six hits, three runs (all earned), and striking out four. Tessar didn’t allow a walk but did hit a batter in his outing.

“I was happy with the way he threw strikes,” Horton said.

Jordan Spencer was the first Duck to come in relief and pitched a clean 6th inning with one strikeout.

In the seventh, Oregon picked up two more after Catalano reached base via a walk and was moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Jack Kruger. It was then Mark Karaviotis who singled to right, scoring Catalano. Karaviotis then got to third on a single from Payne and scored on a sacrifice fly by J.B. Bryant.

Then Jack Karraker was called upon in a 10-3 game to get work in. The Dons responded in the seventh, matching the Ducks with two runs in the inning. Two straight singles set up Justin McCullough for an RBI situation. McCullough doubled to left center, scoring both runners on the play.

Garrett Cleavinger and Jake Reed pitched clean innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively. Of the five pitchers Oregon threw not one surrendered a walk.

Brando Tessar was awarded the win in the 12-5 Oregon victory.

The Ducks will leave the city by the bay taking one of two games and will head down south to Palo Alto on Thursday for their weekend series against Stanford.

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The No. 11 Oregon baseball team wasn’t much of a factor offensively against the San Francisco Dons on Tuesday. The Ducks looked sluggish and tired. But head coach George Horton wouldn’t allow his players to make excuses, giving most of the credit to the Dons. In the city by the bay, the Ducks had the expectations to dominate all aspects of the game. But the production didn’t come, and when it did, it was too little too late in an 8-4 loss.

“I’m not going to make any excuses,” Horton said. “They just out-toughed us.”

USF starting pitcher Sheldon Lee looked good but not great. He threw strikes with his fastball that ranged widely between 82-88 miles per hour. He didn’t throw many changeups nor did he rely heavily on his breaking pitches. After five innings of work Lee threw 87 pitches, 50 of which were strikes.

What made Lee’s outing look so superior was the lack of production from the Oregon offense. Not only did Oregon struggle to get hits, which they didn’t get until Nick Catalano’s two-out double in the fourth inning, the Ducks couldn’t quite take advantage of Lee’s limited repertoire .

“I thought we got some fat pitches and we struck out 15 times,” Horton said.

Of the 15 strikeouts, seven of them occurred in the final 2.2 innings. Eight of Oregon’s strikeouts came from Austin Grebeck, Tyler Baumgartner, Mitchell Tolman and Kyle Garlick — Oregon’s 2-5 hitters.

“We were crummy (offensively),” Horton said. “We were giving away a lot of at bats.”

It was clear that some of the Oregon players were overly eager to hit the ball. Whether it was because of frustration caused by the long bus ride on Monday from Eugene, the tiny dugout meant to hold a third of Oregon’s team, the slower pitching or another reason, Oregon’s hitters were often caught out on their front feet.

“I don’t think we respected the game very well and I don’t think we respected our opponent very well,” Horton said.

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Senior outfielder Connor Hofmann has asked for his release from the Oregon baseball team, according to head coach George Horton. The San Diego, Calif., native is in his fourth year with the Ducks.

Before his request for a release, Hofmann was hitting .222 (6-for-27) with five RBIs and two runs scored on the season.

“He has decided to move on,” Horton said after Tuesday’s 8-4 loss to San Francisco. “I haven’t even talked to him yet.”

Hofmann appeared in 11 games this season, starting in eight. He was the eighth place hitter in the lineup through eight starts which came against Hawaii, Loyola Marymount, Portland and Cal State Fullerton.

Hofmann was not included on the travel list before Oregon’s current 10-game road trip, which Horton noted after Tuesday’s loss.

“I know he asked for his release because he didn’t make the travel list,” Horton said. ”We’ve had other athletes not make travel lists and wait their turn.”

Hofmann lost his spot in the outfield in large part to the success of freshman Austin Grebeck. Grebeck is hitting .270 on the season in the two spot of the lineup with nine RBIs and has yet to commit an error. Being on a team where outs are precious, Grebeck has 36 more at-bats than Hofmann does and has just one more strikeout (9).

Hofmann’s best year as a Duck came in 2012 where he finished the season with a .239 batting average, three home runs and 14 RBIs in 142 at bats.

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JaQuan Lyle, five-star men’s basketball recruit and the No. 22 overall player in the 2014 class according to Rivals.com, committed to Oregon at about 3:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Lyle originally committed to Louisville before deciding to withdraw his commitment in September. Lyle made his commitment at the Evansville Airport Holiday Inn by announcing he would attend University of Oregon and immediately putting on an Oregon Ducks hat.

Lyle considered Oklahoma State, Kansas and Memphis.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard is described by ESPN basketball recruiting writer Paul Bincardi as “a setup point guard with a strong body and is capable of playing as a freshman.” Rivals rates his shooting as “outstanding.”

Lyle is an Evansville, Ind., native but transferred from Evansville to play at Huntington Prep in West Virginia for his senior year. Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins and Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng are some of Huntington Prep’s alumni.

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– Oregon freshman Edward Cheserek was voted by the nation’s indoor track & field coaches and the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coach Association as the Division I Men’s National Athlete of the Year. This past weekend, Cheserek swept the 3,000 and 5,000 meters events at the NCAA Championships held in Albuquerque, N.M., to lead the men to their first national title since 2009.

– Cheserek wasn’t the only Duck to win a national award Wednesday. Oregon head coach Robert Johnson won both the Division I Men’s and Women’s National Coach of the Year awards. Johnson coached the men to their first national championship since 2009 and the women to their fifth consecutive title. This now makes Johnson the Women’s Indoor National Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year.

– Oregon men’s basketball freshman transfer Brandon Austin, along with Providence freshman Rodney Bullock, was accused of sexually assaulting a Providence student in November. The allegations were reportedly made “a couple of weeks ago” and the Providence Police Department is currently investigating Austin and Bullock. Austin transferred to Oregon — currently preparing for the NCAA tournament — from Providence in January and won’t be eligible to play for the Ducks until December.

– The seventh-seeded Oregon men’s basketball team will meet 10 seed BYU on Thursday, March 20 at 12:10 p.m. PST in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The two teams met this season on Dec. 21, when the Ducks beat the Cougars 100-96 in overtime. The winner will face either two seed Wisconsin or 15 seed American University in the third round.

– In the Rainbow Wahine Classic, the No. 2 Oregon softball team lost in the championship game to James Madison 3-0. The Ducks finished 5-1 in the tournament and will begin Pac-12 play on Saturday, March 22. After the tournament, sophomore Alyssa Gillespie was awarded Most Valuable Player after batting .500 (10-for-20) in the tournament. Cheridan Hawkins also finished as co-Most Valuable Pitcher, allowing just two runs in the tournament for a 0.78 ERA.

– The Oregon Women’s basketball team received a bid from the WNIT selection committee Monday night. The Ducks will host Pacific on Thursday at Matt Knight Arena. This is Oregon’s sixth trip to the WNIT. The Ducks have won WNIT championships in 1989 and 2002. Oregon is 3-0 all-time against Pacific — 2-0 at Matt Knight Arena. The WNIT will mark Paul Westhead’s final game(s) as Oregon’s head coach.

– Emerald sports reporter Joseph Hoyt joined KWVA Sports’ “Quack Smack” Tuesday night, giving insight into Oregon’s possible NCAA tournament run and other bracket matchups. He also talked about the Oregon women’s basketball team and what they are playing for in the final game(s) under Westhead. KWVA’s Quack Smack airs from 6-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and will continue to feature an Emerald sports reporter every Tuesday. KWVA also airs Friday Night Spotlight from 7-9 p.m. each week.

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Every Sunday, The Emerald sports staff will collect their favorite quotes from the previous seven days. Athletes, coaches, media or anybody with a quote pertaining to Oregon sports can be included. Below are The Emerald’s favorites from the week of March 9-March 15.

Acrobatics and tumbling

“We didn’t know we won after team routine. I was so nervous waiting for those scores to come up just because it was such a close meet. Once we heard the scores, it was so exciting. It was like winning a national championship.”

– Junior base Tara Lubert said after winning the meet against Azusa Pacific and Quinnipiac.

Baseball

“(There are) certain hitters that you just don’t want to see get in the batter’s box, and Mitch certainly has the look in his eye.”

– Head coach George Horton said about Mitchell Tolman after Saturday’s 7-2 win over USC.

“Our scouting report: sometimes that kid is one dimensional. But even one dimensional at 95-96 with shadows is not an easy venture. I thought he had spectacular stuff.”

– Head coach George Horton said about USC’s starting pitcher Wyatt Strahan who led the Trojans to a 3-2 win over the Ducks.

Football

“This is something I’ve been preparing for since the day after the Alamo Bowl, and it’s been something I’ve been thinking about since the Alamo Bowl. It’s finally over and I’m ready to get to the next level.”

– Former cornerback Avery Patterson said following pro day at the University of Oregon.

“I want to get anywhere on the field just to play and show my ability that I can play football. Wide receiver, punt returner, kick returner, just somewhere I can contribute and make plays.”

– Former running back De’Anthony Thomas said after running a 4.39 40-yard dash at pro day.

Men’s basketball

“I’m going into this tournament with the same mindset (as last year). Just go in and swing away, really.”

– Senior Johnathan Loyd said to media before the Pac-12 tournament started.

“Coming off the bench probably isn’t easy, but he’s like, ‘I’ll do whatever I got to do to help this team.’ He’s cold-blooded. I watched the Arizona game and I’m just looking like, ‘Man, this dude can shoot.’ He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever played with.”

– Senior Johnathan Loyd said about teammate Jason Calliste before Oregon’s Pac-12 tournament game against Oregon State.

“It’s a big honor, especially considering all the great players who have come through here. It’s definitely a good feeling knowing I’m the first one to do it.”

– Mike Moser on being named as an all-Pac-12 honorable mention. He also won consecutive Pac-12 player of the week awards, which is the first time an Oregon player has won the honor in back-to-back weeks.

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