The Oregon baseball team (20-8) won in familiar fashion Tuesday night, relying on manufacturing runs and strong pitching to beat Gonzaga (10-17) 3-2 in the first game of a mid-week two-game series.

Mitchell Tolman went 2-for-4 and A.J. Balta and J.B. Bryant had an RBI apiece.

Starting pitcher Jordan Spencer threw three shutout innings, allowing two hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Oregon ended a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth. After Tyler Baumgartner and Tolman singled in back-to-back at-bats to begin the inning, Shaun Chase walked to load the bases with nobody out. The next batter, Bryant, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, hampering Oregon’s chances for a big inning but allowing Baumgartner to score.

The next inning, Mark Karaviotis tripled and Aaron Payne walked and advanced on a wild pitch to put runners on second and third with one out. Balta grounded out to third, scoring Karaviotis from third to push Oregon’s lead to 2-0. With Payne on third, Baumgartner flied out to end the threat.

Gonzaga finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, catcher Jimmy Sinatro singled home Beau Bozett, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Reliever Stephen Nogosek retired Sam Brown and Nicholas Minteer to end the inning and preserve Oregon’s 2-1 lead.

The Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the eighth but managed a single run, courtesy of a Bryant sacrifice fly. Kyle Garlick walked to reload the bases, but pinch-hitter Steven Packard flied out to strand the baserunners.

Gonzaga threatened in the bottom of the inning. With Garrett Cleavinger on the mound and one on, Cabe Reiten doubled to give the Bulldogs two runners in scoring position with two outs. Cleavinger plunked Cory LeBrun to load the bases, but fanned Bozett to strike out the side and end the inning.

Ducks closer Jake Reed came on in the ninth and allowed a run, a Sinatro RBI single, but struck out the side to shut the door and earn his sixth save of the season.

Spencer (1-0) picked up his first victory of the season and was aided by steady relief work from Nogosek, Trent Paddon, Cleavinger and Reed.

Karl Myers (0-2) was saddled with the loss for Gonzaga, who have lost three straight.

Right-hander Brando Tessar is the Ducks’ probable starter for game two on Wednesday.

Noteworthy:

– The win was head coach George Horton’s 200th at Oregon.

– With the win, Oregon improves to 13-0 all-time against Gonzaga.

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On Monday, it was reported that Oregon assistant men’s basketball coach Brian Fish would be named head coach of the Montana State University men’s hoops program. The announcement became official Tuesday afternoon and Fish was named as the 22nd head coach in Bobcats history.

“I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” Fish said in a Montana State press conference Tuesday. “I’m very excited and feel really good that an Athletic Director such as Peter Fields and Montana State University believes in me and is trusting me with its basketball program.”

Fish leaves Oregon after four years as an assistant to Dana Altman, who worked with Fish in some capacity for 15 years.

“My first job was with Coach Altman and I ended up being with him for 15 years and I learned the business the right way, with integrity yet being able to win a lot of games,” Fish said. “We had a lot of kids graduate, and some of them had professional basketball careers and the one thing that was out of my control was the first person that hired me. That ended up being the luckiest thing that’s happened to me … I learned a great deal about coaching from Coach Altman, a great deal about how to develop a team and how to bring a team along.”

Fields praised Fish on multiple accounts, calling him “a tremendous student of the game of basketball.”

“He has great integrity,” Fields said. “He’s a very loyal person, a very hard worker, he’s committed to helping student-athletes succeed and he’s a tremendous student of the game of basketball.”

In addition to working with Altman at Oregon, Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall, Fish worked under Billy Tubbs at Texas Christian University and assisted Brad Holland at the University of San Diego.

“In my six years with Billy Tubbs I learned a totally different style of basketball,” Fish said. “We won a lot of games and I learned how to play up-tempo and I learned a lot of things just riding in a car with him going to see a recruit. Brad Holland was a great guy to work for and a great people person. He’s a very good coach, but was also very good at getting to know people and pushing the buttons to get the best out of them.”

Fish played collegiate basketball at Western Kentucky University from 1984-86 before transferring to Marshall, where he played from 1987-89 and graduated with a BA in sports management.

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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 17-23.

Men’s basketball

“It was really a disappointing loss. We played pretty well the first half, had pretty good control right before half but didn’t finish the half as well as we needed to. We started the second very poorly, gave up a lot of easy baskets that got the crowd in the game. The momentum switched there pretty quick.”

– Oregon head coach Dana Altman following the Ducks’ 85-77 loss to Wisconsin in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

“Calliste was in the corner, fuming, ‘You guys stay away from me I’m not talking.’ Johnathan Loyd was across the locker room, face buried in his hands, searching for words. Richard Amardi was just shaking his head, staring off. At one point, Calliste pulled on a ‘CANADA’ beanie cap and tried to leave the locker room but a Ducks support staffer told him, ‘Jason, you can’t leave.’”

– From John Canzano’s column in The Oregonian following Oregon’s 85-77 loss to Wisconsin.

Johnathan Loyd found folding chair turned it toward the corner and sat with his head down for a while. Blamed himself for not hitting shots

— Steve Mims (@SteveMims_RG) March 23, 2014

Register-Guard reporter Steve Mims on the scene inside Oregon’s locker room following its loss to Wisconsin.

“I thought we did a good job of finding (Cook) along the baseline. They (BYU) went into a zone and we got some penetration and had a lot of good passes to him on the baseline. I thought our guys did a good job of finding him … then he finished.”

– Altman on Elgin Cook’s career-best 23 points in Oregon’s win over BYU in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Baseball

“I knew I had to get it out of the infield to score that run, whether it be in the air, up the middle, I had to do something. They threw me a fastball up in the zone, I just put a short, hard swing on it and it just happened to go out.”

– Catcher Shaun Chase on his eighth inning home run that gave Oregon a 3-1 win and a sweep of Utah.

“We can sit there and dwell on the fact that we could be better with Cole Irvin, but we don’t have Cole Irvin. We don’t have Scott Heineman, so it’s other guys’ opportunities.”

– Head coach George Horton on losing starting infielder Scott Heineman for the season due to a shoulder injury.

“I saw coach Uhlman wheeling me in because he had a better angle. So, I decided to just go for it and trust him.”

– Second baseman Nick Catalano after Oregon’s 1-0 win over Utah. Catalano scored the winning run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch.

Football

“We will continue to support Eric in pursuit of his college football dreams. He will always be a member of the University of Oregon family. We wish him well.”

– Head football coach Mark Helfrich on wide receiver Eric Dungy’s departure from the Oregon football program.

Women’s basketball

“I think both teams were trying to figure it out. Chrishae Rowe came in and said, ‘I’ll figure it out for you.’”

Head coach Paul Westhead following Oregon’s 90-63 win over Pacific in the first round of the WNIT.

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The Oregon men’s basketball team (24-9) won its first game of the 2014 NCAA tournament Thursday afternoon, beating BYU(23-12) 87-68. The Ducks will face Wisconsin in the round of 32 on Saturday.

Oregon sophomore Elgin Cook had a huge homecoming, scoring a career-high 23 points off the bench on 8-for-9 shooting. The Milwaukee native added eight rebounds and converted 7-of-10 free throw attempts.

Joseph Young scored 19 points and Jason Calliste added 14, 11 of which came at the charity stripe.

The Ducks out-shot BYU 50 percent to 32.8 percent from the floor and didn’t shoot well from three point range (2-for-13) but were able to break BYU’s zone and score inside often, highlighted by Cook’s big night.

Tyler Haws led BYU in scoring with 19.

Early on, it looked to be Damyean Dotson who was having a coming out party, not Cook. Dotson scored four of Oregon’s first six points and was playing more aggressive on offense than he has most of this season. Oregon hit each of its first four shots from the field, and although it was way too early to make any assumptions, the seventh-seeded Ducks looked to be on their way to a win.

Oregon maintained a steady lead over BYU for the first 10 minutes before beginning to pull away. A Mike Moser bucket inside put the Ducks up 35-21 — their largest lead to that point — prompting a BYU timeout.

Two Calliste free throws at the 3:07 mark increased Oregon’s lead to 39-24, but the two points would be Oregon’s last of the half. The Cougars scored the final seven points of the period and trailed 39-31 at halftime.

BYU inched up on Oregon early in the second half and eventually climbed to within 56-53 on Matt Carlino’s three point jumper with 12:03 remaining, prompting an Oregon timeout.

Out of the timeout, Johnathan Loyd found Cook for one of his six assists, as Cook drew contact from Carlino and hit the lay-in. Cook sunk the free throw to complete the three-point play, proving to be the turning point for Oregon, whose lead would never fall below six the rest of the way.

The Ducks outscored BYU 28-15 over the final 11 minutes to seal the victory.

“These guys really played well in the second half,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “I thought Elgin Cook had a great game and really finished everything down low. Once they made their run to cut it to three I thought he made a big play there and got a three-point play then we got some stops and were able to pull away.”

Though the Ducks shot poorly from distance, an area they’ve relied on throughout the season, a strong inside presence helped them shoot 50 percent from the field.

“I thought we did a good job of finding (Cook) along the baseline,” Altman said. “They (BYU) went into a zone and we got some penetration and had a lot of good passes to him on the baseline. I thought our guys did a good job of finding him … then he finished.”

Cook’s extended minutes were partly due to Oregon foul trouble. Mike Moser picked up his fourth foul with 14:22 remaining. Ben Carter and Richard Amardi also finished with four personals.

“When Moser didn’t play real well Elgin stepped in and played great,” Altman said. “That’s what you like from a ball team is that you’ve got some depth so that when one player gets in foul trouble that you have someone else to step up.”

Moser said he knew Cook was destined for a big game since he heard they were playing in his hometown.

“I knew he (Cook) was fired up right from the selection show,” Moser said. “I think he played inspired basketball. Any time you have a homecoming in front of your friends and family you get inspired.”

BYU was without starter Kyle Collinsworth, who tore his ACL in the championship game of the West Coast Conference tournament. Collinsworth led the Cougars in rebounds and assists this season.

“I’m really proud of our team,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “I think we had a really exciting week as far as our invitation to the tournament but it was extremely difficult with the injury to Kyle. I think that our ability to fight through some real adveristy and cut it to three there in the second half and had some real momentum and thought maybe we could fight through that, but Oregon was too good.”

Despite his team’s performance, Altman agreed that the loss of Collinsworth was vital to the outcome.

“The difference was Collinsworth not being in there,” Altman said. “It was a benefit for us that he wasn’t able to play.”

The Ducks will play second-seeded Wisconsin on Saturday, which will virtually be a home game for Bo Ryan’s Badgers.

“We know they’re a very good basketball team,” Altman said of Wisconsin. “We won’t have a lot of people cheering for us so the atmosphere will be tough, but that’s okay. Our guys will look forward to the challenge.”

Joshua Vinson contributed to the reporting in this article.

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The Oregon baseball team (14-5, 2-1 Pac-12) beat USC (10-8, 1-2) 7-2 Sunday afternoon to win its first Pac-12 series of the season. Starting pitcher Jeff Gold was excellent, throwing 6.2 innings and giving up two earned runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Tyler Baumgartner went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Nick Catalano and Mark Karaviotis added a hit, run and RBI apiece, while Aaron Payne went 2-for-5 with two runs. Kyle Garlick went 0-for-4 with a walk, ending his hitting streak at 15 games.

After USC second baseman Dante Flores led off the top of the second with a single, Gold sat down the next 15 USC hitters. He worked efficiently and finished three consecutive innings with single-digit pitch totals.

Gold was pulled with two outs in the seventh after loading the bases with no outs and allowing USC’s first two runs to cross home. Other than the one bad inning, Gold was nearly perfect. Of his 83 total pitches, 65 were thrown for strikes.

“I didn’t walk anybody, so that was cool,” Gold said. “I hate walking people. I mean, we’re pitchers. We’re supposed to execute throwing strikes.”

Gold hasn’t allowed a walk in his last 19.2 innings dating back to his start against Seattle on March 4 when he walked the first batter of the game. For the season, Gold has issued just three free passes in 31.2 innings and owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 10-to-1.

“My mentality is probably the best it’s ever been in my whole pitching career,” Gold said.

“I thought he was spot on with his location and the typical four pitch mix,” Oregon coach George Horton said. “Even the inning, they got to him a little bit, he was a little unfortunate. He jammed a couple guys and they got bloop hits and then they did a good job with the bunt base hit and caught us off guard there, but I thought it was a real solid outing by Jeff.”

Gold improved to 5-0 on the season and likely solidified himself as the Sunday starter, a role that’s bounced between several arms already this season.

“He’s creeping into the weekend rotation and passed two tests in a row, and hopefully he’ll be able to continue that excellence through the Pac-12 Sunday starts,” Horton said.

Oregon was carried offensively by a big second inning. Catalano walked and advanced to third on Josh Graham’s single up the middle to put runners on the corners with one out. Karaviotis bunted back to pitcher Kyle Twomey, who threw home trying to get Catalano at the plate. Catalano was safe, upping Oregon’s lead to 2-0.

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Oregon junior guard Joseph Young was named to the all-tournament team following the conclusion of the Pac-12 tournament on Saturday.

Young averaged 24 points per game and shot 62.1 percent from the floor in Oregon’s two games against Oregon State and UCLA, leading the Ducks in scoring on both occasions. Young’s 29 points against the Bruins on Thursday were his most since he scored 29 against Arizona State on Feb. 8.

Joining Young on the all-tournament team are Arizona’s Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon, Colorado’s Askia Booker and Stanford’s Chasson Randle.

UCLA sophomore Kyle Anderson was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. The Bruins beat Arizona in the tournament final 75-71.

Anderson averaged 15 points, 10.3 rebounds and six assists in three games and recorded a double-double in the championship game with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

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After winning its opening round game against Oregon State 88-74 Wednesday night, the Oregon men’s basketball team (23-8, 10-8 Pac-12) take on the UCLA Bruins (23-8, 12-6) tonight in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 tournament. The two teams split the regular season series with the road team winning each time.

Wednesday night’s win was Oregon’s eighth straight, a streak that started against their Civil War rivals on Feb. 16. A double overtime win against the Bruins kept it going, and now UCLA has its two leading scorers back for the rubber match.

In the double overtime thriller, Jordan Adams (17.5 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game) and Kyle Anderson (14.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 6.6 assists per game) were suspended for violating team rules. The sophomore starters have been on a tear in three games since the suspension, with Adams averaging 20.7 points and Anderson averaging 15 points, 9.7 rebounds per contest.

Last night against Oregon State, Mike Moser snapped his four-game double-double streak. He put in 13 points but managed just three rebounds, his lowest total since he had zero boards in the first meeting with UCLA. Oregon’s bench contributed 46 points against the Beavers, showing more depth that it has all season. Solid bench play will be key for the Ducks against UCLA, as Bruins head coach Steve Alford routinely uses an eight-man rotation.

Both teams are equipped offensively and rank in the top 11 nationally in points per game. Oregon is tied for eighth and leads in the Pac-12 with 82.5 points per game, and UCLA is 11th and second in the conference averaging 82 points.

Last time Oregon and UCLA faced off in the Pac-12 tournament was in last year’s championship game, with Oregon winning 78-69.

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Oregon head baseball coach George Horton said Tommy Thorpe needed to “show up” earlier this week after the ace got shelled in his last start. Thorpe did that and more in a dominant performance in Oregon’s 8-2 win over Ohio State Friday night.

The junior southpaw tossed seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits and striking out a career-best 10 batters with no walks, by far his best outing of the season.

Thorpe, who became Oregon’s ace after the pitching staff lost Cole Irvin for the season, pitched well in his first two starts this year. He was 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA and the Ducks were undefeated. Last weekend against Cal State Fullerton, Thorpe was pulled in the sixth after giving up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits as Oregon suffered its first loss of the season.

It was tough to tell if Tommy Thorpe would show up early on, as he was aided by two great defensive plays by shortstop Mark Karaviotis and second baseman Aaron Payne in the first inning. Then Oregon’s bats came alive for seven runs in the fourth and Thorpe was dialed in.

“He pitched good. I think even to start the game … he didn’t have great conviction in his pitches, had a little doubt in his mind,” Horton said. “Then after we got the seven (runs) he looked like a different guy. He looked like Tommy from last year. So I think the fact that we were able to bust through like that made him relax and then he could trust his stuff. This was definitely his best outing of the year.”

Thorpe mixed up pitches well, keeping hitters off-balance with both his curve ball and slider. Both breaking balls were consistently in the strike zone and forced 11 swings and misses.

“It’s been in and out this year,” Horton said of Thorpe’s slider. “I think at times it’s been that good. I think the fact that he was able to get his curveball and locate his fastball and get ahead is always the big difference. Guys don’t chase pitches out of the zone if you’re not ahead so Tommy got ahead and then had his three pitch mix going and pitched very well.”

Before men’s basketball practice on Thursday, Oregon senior Nicholas Lucenti spoke to reporters about Saturday’s game against Arizona after coming off their sixth straight win. Lucenti also reflected on his time at Oregon, senior night and McArthur Court. Lucenti has been with the team for four years and has made 22 appearances.

What’s senior day going to be like for you?

“I’m really excited, and obviously it’s a huge game, playing Arizona. The place is gonna be packed and you get all the emotions of senior night and playing here for the last time. I’m excited to be doing it with one of my best friends, John(athan) Loyd. Been here for four years with him. Got the whole family coming in, too, so it’ll be fun.”

During this whole four years you’ve always been jolly. Did you always want to stick it out? What kept you going when you knew you weren’t going to be playing a whole lot?

“I’ve always been close with the team and I’ve talked to coach multiple times and I knew my role coming into it. I’ve just enjoyed the process.”

What do you think you need to change up as a team the second time around against Arizona?

“I feel really good coming into it. We played them down to the wire at their place and that’s probably one of the toughest environments to play in and now we got them coming back here at home. They just played a tough game at Oregon State so I feel good.”

Mike Moser mentioned over the weekend that you guys had good chemistry on this team. Even when you guys lost he saw a reason to believe you guys could win out like this. How would you judge the way this team has evolved with its chemistry?

“I would totally agree with that. We went through a little dry spell there but every team goes through that and we were losing close games. Two-point game here, two-point game there, so I always had faith this team would bounce back and I think it’s just all coming together at the right time.”

Who’s the leader in that? Is that Loyd? Is that you?

“I gotta give the credit to John. He’s been our vocal leader, our everything. And he’s been around it for four years and has been one of the biggest contributors so probably him.”

You’re one of the few guys who got to play at McArthur Court and this new building. Do you still have some good memories of that?

“Yeah, it’s crazy to think that I’m one of the only ones who played at Mac Court and Matt Knight but I love that place. Crazy energy. I always heard the ghost stories. Managers always used to tell me about being down there late nights doing laundry and hearing stuff. But it’s a great place. I love that place.”

Have you been back in there since you guys made the switch over?

“I have actually. They were just cleaning it out one day and I was walking by and I just kinda walked in. I just kinda took it in for a second, but other than that, not really.”

Who was the guy you hated to guard on the scout team when you were on the scout team?

“Well, most of the time, we were doing offensive stuff, so they all didn’t want to guard me. But who did I not want to guard? E.J. (Singler) was dirty. Never wanted to guard E.J. He was always slapping you, holding you, doing something. So probably E.J.”

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Tyler Baumgartner’s eighth inning RBI double was the difference in the Oregon baseball team’s 4-3 win over Seattle University in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.

The Ducks struggled to convert with runners in scoring position all night, leaving 11 men on base. Baumgartner drove in Mark Karaviotis from second with two outs to break the spell, allowing Oregon (10-3) to sweep the Redhawks (5-8).

The game-winner came off of left-handed submarine pitcher Will Dennis (1-1). Seattle’s bullpen hadn’t allowed a run in 6.2 innings of work, and Baumgartner admitted he had never seen a pitcher like Dennis.

“I’ve never seen a lefty submarine guy in my life before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Baumgartner said. “I saw him really well and when he came with the fastball I was able to stay short and poke it through the middle.”

Bumgartner’s late inning heroics capped off a 3-for-5 game at the plate, and 6-for-10 overall for the day.

Oregon plated its first three runs in the opening frame. Austin Grebeck walked and advanced to third on Baumgartner’s single up the middle, setting the table for Mitchell Tolman. Tolman hit a line drive into the right field corner, resulting in a two-run triple. Kyle Garlick followed with a base hit to center, scoring Tolman.

Seattle looked poised to have a big inning in the second when it loaded the bases with no outs. Consecutive sacrifice flies by Colin Peterson and Sam Finfer put the Redhawks on the scoreboard, but Oregon would survive the inning with its lead intact.

The Ducks’ string of poor hitting with runners on began in the fourth when Grebeck flied out with the bases loaded to end the inning. In each of the next five innings, including Baumgartner’s important eighth, Oregon stranded runners in scoring position.

“I think it’s contagious and it’s confidence and it’s going to be dependent on who’s up there,” head coach George Horton said on timely hitting. “Our guys are really, really good young men and they have the will to win … Any time you don’t let the game come to you and you force it, I think it’s more difficult to play a very difficult game to begin with.”

Seattle’s pitching staff deserved a lot of credit, though, according to Horton and Tolman. After starter Skyler Genger allowed three runs in his only inning, three relievers held Oregon to one run on seven hits.

“I mean, they’re good pitchers and I think they did a good job of keeping guys off balance,” Tolman said. “They threw a lot of offspeed and I think we eventually sat back on it and started hitting the ball where it was pitched.”

“I think guys are making good pitches,” Horton said. “That left-hander they brought in first was crafty. He was pitching backwards … then the specialty guy we won the game off of was really nasty.”

Oregon starting pitcher Brando Tessar lasted just three innings but was relieved by four members of Oregon’s bullpen, who combined to throw six innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out 12 and walking two.

Jake Reed (2-0) picked up the win.

Oregon continues its homestand by welcoming Ohio State for a three-game weekend series. Seattle goes home to host Cal Poly.