Sometimes it’s good to be home.

The Oregon men’s golf team picked up its first victory of the season on Tuesday at the Duck Invitational at the Eugene Country Club, taking a share of the team title with Liberty as both teams finished +13.

The tournament began Monday with two rounds before teams competed in the final round on Tuesday.

Norman Xiong (-11) won his third individual title of the season. He narrowly beat out Riley Elmes of Loyola Marymount by one stroke. Xiong held the lead following the first round after completing a bogey-free 4-under par. In the second round he shot an even-par to maintain his lead over his teammates and a tie for second in the overall.

Ryan Gronlund (+1), who tied for ninth place, was the only other Ducks player to finish in the top-10. It’s his third straight top-10 finish and the eighth of his career. He ended round two with a 3-under to bring his overall score to even-par heading into the final day.

No other Ducks player in the team’s starting lineup finished better than 43rd place. Edwin Yi and Donald Kay each finished +12 in the event. Thomas Mulligan (+20) to complete the Oregon starting five.

The team had three golfers who competed individually, led by Kevin Geniza, who finished the second day 6-over par to complete a +15-overall tournament score. Teddy Oitzman (+23) and Sam Foust (+26) rounded out the Oregon Ducks that participated in the Invitational.

Oregon, Liberty and Oregon State trailed Santa Clara after the first day by one stroke.

Oregon State (+17) tied for third place and Arizona (+25) finished sixth as the only other representatives from the Pac-12 competing in the Invitational.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Ducks as they head to Stanford, California, for The Goodwin. The three-day event tees off on Thursday.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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The Oregon Ducks lost 5-1 to the San Francisco Dons in a one-game series on Monday afternoon at PK Park.

The Dons (16-8) used a total of seven pitchers to hold the Oregon offense to just six hits in the game. Oregon finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Three consecutive singles by Jakob Goldfarb, Gabe Matthews and Kenyon Yovan loaded the bases, putting pressure on the Dons. Alex Andranovich entered the game for the Ducks to pinch hit and drew a run-scoring walk. However, flyouts by Daniel Patzlaff and Jonny DeLuca ended the Ducks final scoring threat of the afternoon and stranded its 10th base runner of the game.

The Ducks (14-9) also went deep into their bullpen, using nine pitchers in this game. Only Parker Kelly pitched longer than one inning, and he only pitched 1.2 innings and surrendered the most hits with four. No other pitcher gave up more than two hits all game, and Jesse Hobaica had the most strikeouts with three.

Ross Puskarich ripped a run-scoring double in the first inning to take the early lead. But no team scored again until the seventh inning when a single, a walk and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases for the Dons. James Acuna surrendered a run-scoring walk in the next at-bat and then two straight singles increased the Dons lead over the Ducks to four runs.

The Dons looked to increase their 4-0 lead in the top of the eighth inning. With runners on second and third base, Kelly got the batter into an 1-2 count and the Ducks made another pitching change. Ryne Nelson entered the game and surrendered a base hit that allowed the Dons to score the fifth run of the day.

The Ducks now embark on a four game road trip starting Thursday against the Stanford Cardinal before facing the Dons again on April 2.

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 Oregon baseball was unable to complete the sweep of the California Golden Bears, losing 5-3 on Sunday.

California held a comfortable lead for the majority of the game. After a single to open the top of the second inning, Jonah Davis hit an RBI-double. Then a single by Sam Wozniak gave the Golden Bears an early two-run lead.

A single and a fielding error put two on base for the Golden Bears in the fifth inning. The Ducks walked last year’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Andrew Vaughn during three of his five plate appearances, but in the fifth inning he made the Ducks pay by crushing a three-run home run to extend the Golden Bears lead to five runs.

Freshman starter Kolby Somers took the loss for the Ducks. He surrendered 5 runs (two earned) on six hits in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out three batters and walked two.

It was a tough day for the Ducks to find any hits, as no single player collected more than one hit against the Golden Bears. California Golden Bears starter Matt Ladrech picked up his second win of the season. He held the Ducks to one run on four hits and struck out three batters.

Down four runs in the bottom of the ninth, Kenyon Yovan tried to get the Ducks back into the game with a 2-RBI double to left field which pulled the Ducks within two runs. However, a flyout by Jason Drees ended the comeback attempt for the Ducks.

The loss dropped Oregon to 14-8 and 2-4 in the Pac-12. The Golden Bears picked up their first Pac-12 win in six attempts and improved their overall record to 13-9 this season.

Next up for the Ducks is a one-game series against the San Francisco Dons on Monday at 1 p.m. at PK Park.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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With the Friday game postponed due to weather, Oregon Ducks baseball picked up a pair of wins over the California Golden Bears in a doubleheader on Saturday at PK Park.

The Ducks jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings in the first game before having to withstand a furious late rally by the Golden Bears, and Oregon escaped with an 8-5 win.

Matt Mercer pitched six innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out eight batters to collect his third win of the season. Parker Kelly entered the game for the final three innings and picked up his first save of the season. He gave up two hits and two runs (one earned) and struck out three batters.

Ray Soderman finished the game 3-of-4 with a 2-RBI single that pushed the Oregon first-inning lead to three runs. The Ducks added two more runs in the second inning when Ryne Nelson scored on a throwing error by California left fielder Jonah Davis.

Down six runs, the Golden Bears comeback attempt started in the fifth inning when Sam Wezniak made it home on a throwing error to first base. After a wild pitch scored another run, the Golden Bears cut the Oregon lead in half with a single up the middle.

In the top of the eighth inning, California pulled within a run on a two-RBI single by Cameron Eden.

The Ducks answered quickly by loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jakob Goldfarb scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Travess. After Kyle Kasser reloaded the bases with his fourth hit of the game, Jonny DeLuca came through with an RBI-single to extend the Oregon lead back to three runs.

Oregon built a big lead in the second game of the doubleheader, but there was no counterpunch by the Golden Bears this time as the Ducks won 7-2 to complete an undefeated day.

Kenyon Yovan, who is Oregon’s usual closer, picked up his first win of the season in a rare starting opportunity for the sophomore. He held the Golden Bears to one run on five hits over five innings.

Jakob Goldfarb led the Ducks with a 4-for-5 performance highlighted by a two-RBI single in the seventh inning that extended the Oregon lead to five runs.

California held a one-run lead in the first inning but didn’t score again until the ninth inning and the game was out of reach.

The Ducks tied the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly and took the lead on a single by Jason Drees, who made his seventh appearance in a game this season.

The two teams conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 12 p.m. at PK Park.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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In the second quarter of the No. 6 seeded Oregon Ducks’ 101-73 second round win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the dominant post play of Oregon’s 6-foot-4-inch forward Ruthy Hebard was again on display at Matthew Knight Arena.

Gophers guard Jessie Edwards tried to shoot down low but Hebard smashed one of her four blocked shots back into her body. Not wanting to get her shot blocked again, Edwards tried to get the ball to her teammate Kenisha Bell, but Justine Hall blocked that too. Hebard was able to snag the ball while unbalanced, throw the ball off the Minnesota player and give Oregon another possession.

“[The Gophers] kind of relaxed defensively,” Hebard said. “And we got the ball inside a lot, so that was really nice to see. Everyone was playing great defense, getting in the passing lanes and getting steals was all working well for us.”

Plays like this is what led to Oregon limiting the Gophers to 18 second-chance points and holding a 46-18 advantage in the paint, and the Ducks successfully kept the explosive Gophers uptempo offense held down until it was too late.

When preparing for Saturday’s game, both coaches agreed, the game was going to be an up tempo, high scoring shootout because of the guard play. Both teams entered Saturday’s matchup in the top nine in scoring offense, partially because both utilize a four-guard lineup; however, the Ducks held a big advantage with their size down by the basket led by the Fairbanks, Alaska, native.

The Golden Gophers starting lineup relied on 6-foot-5-inch Bryanna Fernstrom to guard Hebard, but Fernstrom was unable to do much to contain Hebard who finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.

Defensively, the post players were focusing on getting back on defense instead of going for the rebound with every opportunity. Despite their efforts to hustle back on defense, the Ducks collected 21 more rebounds than the Golden Gophers.

It wasn’t just the Gophers that struggled with the size of the Oregon post players during Oregon’s two wins in the Eugene Regional. In Oregon’s 88-45 first round win over the Seattle Redhawks, the height of the Oregon players was even impacting the coaches.

“One time I looked up and we were trying to rebound, and I couldn’t even see my players,” Seattle head coach Suzy Barcomb said. “They had 6-7, 6-5 out there.”

It was clear that the Ducks held the size advantage throughout the Eugene Regional, but now as the team heads to Spokane to play in the Sweet 16, the advantages that made the first two games so sweet, may not be there as the team gets deeper into the NCAA Tournament.

“I think our coaches saw that we were going to be able to accomplish this when they recruited us,” Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “But now it’s another two-game tournament that we’re going into in Spokane and we’re going to play like we’ve been playing and hopefully get two wins there.”

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After splitting the series with two defensive battles, the Oregon Ducks put together a big offensive game in a 10-4 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls to clinch a series victory on Monday at PK Park.

Seven Oregon players picked up RBIs, but only Jonny DeLuca put together a multiple hit game with a double and reaching on a fielder’s choice. Spencer Steer added a 2-RBI double for the final two runs of the game.

Oregon starter Cullen Kafka (2-0) pitched 5.1 innings, surrendering three runs on four hits. He also walked a batter and struck out three. He got off to a rocky start, giving up a double and a run-scoring triple to start the game. In the third at-bat of the game, a groundout allowed a runner to get from third to home and give Florida Atlantic a two-run lead.

DeLuca made a leaping catch at the wall in the top of the fourth inning to rob the Owls of extending the lead.

In the fifth inning, Oregon put five runs on the board to take control of the game. Ray Soderman tied the game with a 2-RBI single with one out. Following a double by Evan Williams in the next at-bat, Kyle Kasser reached first on an error, allowing Williams to get home from third base and forcing the Owls to go to the bullpen. The Oregon offense kept up the attack against the bullpen, with DeLuca immediately smashing a double to left field that put Oregon up 4-2.

After the Owls elected to load the bases with an intentional walk, Jakob Goldfarb drew a walk to extend the lead to three runs. The Owls added a run in the sixth and seventh innings to get within one run but those were the last runs Florida Atlantic scored in the game. The Ducks responded with a three-run inning, highlighted by a 2-RBI double by Daniel Patzlaff to regain control of the game.

The Oregon bullpen used three pitchers to close out the Owls. Ryne Nelson, Koly Somers and Parker Kelly combined to surrender one hit over 3.2 innings. Nelson struck out three of the six batters he faced.

Next up for the Ducks is a four-game series against the UC Davis Aggies at PK Park beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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In the fall, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves was in Minnesota recruiting and had some time to kill. Minnesota head coach Marlene Stollings provided him with an opportunity to view one of Minnesota’s practices.

As fate would have it, the Oregon Ducks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will compete at Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

“We actually run one of their drills that I stole from them,” Graves said. “We certainly don’t run it as well as they do.”

Knowing this now, would Stollings have allowed Graves the same access back in the fall?

“[The Minnesota players] have been giving me trouble about that since Selection Monday,” Stollings said with a laugh. “But yes I would have.”

The Gophers, who average 85.3 points per game and are the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation, will look to push the tempo against the Ducks in the game on Sunday. But the Ducks don’t shy away from scoring either, as they enter the game Sunday with the No. 9 scoring offense at 82.1 points per game.

Both teams are able to generate scoring and push the tempo in part because they utilize a four-guard starting lineup. In their 89-77 first round win over the Green Bay Phoenix, after trailing by as much as 13 in the third quarter, the Gophers outscored the Phoenix 30-17 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory. Junior guard Kenisha Bell led all scorers in the game with 26 points, and their four guards combined to match Green Bay’s 77-point total.

“We’re always up for a high paced game, that what we like to play,” Minnesota guard Carlie Wagner said. “If that’s the type of game it ends up being then we don’t have a problem with that at all.”

The performance from Bell has players and coaches on the Oregon team remembering matching up with a player with a similar style, Pac-12 defensive player of the year from UCLA, Jordin Canada.

“They’re clones of each other,” Graves said. “You can’t guard her with one … We’ve got to defend her by committee.”

The Ducks won all three games against the Bruins this season and held Canada to 39 percent shooting percentage in those matchups.

“We just got to get back [on defense],” Graves said. “If we make them play 5-on-5 in a half-court game, then we have a much better chance. With a team like Minnesota you can’t really rebound four people because if they get a long rebound, then off they go and you’re in trouble.”

Being in this type of second round matchup is nothing new for this Oregon team. Last season the Ducks were the 10-seed looking to knock off the host team. They did and advanced to the first Elite Eight in school history.

“[Minnesota’s] playing with nothing to lose,” Graves said. “I don’t think anybody is expecting them to win the game outside of their locker room, their fans and coaches. That’s kind of how we were last year.

“One of my favorite sayings is ‘a very good team with nothing to lose is a dangerous team — and I think Minnesota is a very dangerous team right now.”

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445

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After leading for the majority of the game, the Oregon bullpen surrendered five runs in the eighth inning to allow the Arizona State Sun Devils to complete the 7-4 comeback against the Ducks on Friday in Tempe, Arizona.

The loss drops the Ducks to 12-4 this season and Arizona State climbs back to .500 with a 9-9 record.  

Oregon starter Matt Mercer surrendered a pair of runs in the first inning but settled in to hold the Sun Devils scoreless throughout the rest of his outing. He held the Sun Devils scoreless until he was replaced to start the seventh inning.

Parker Kelly entered the game and shut down Arizona State with a pair of strikeouts to protect a two-run lead. The game-changing eighth inning began with Kelly hitting a batter and surrendering a base hit, and Oregon turned the game over to closer Kenyon Yovan with two outs. He gave up back-to-back walks that pulled the Sun Devils within a run. In the next at-bat, Gage Canning ripped a bases-clearing triple to give Arizona State the lead. Lyle Lin added the seventh run of the game for the Sun Devils when he singled to bring in Canning.

Oregon scored three runs to take the lead in the top of the third inning. Kyle Kasser and Jonny DeLuca started with back-to-back singles to open the inning. Then, Spencer Steer hit a single to give the Ducks its first run of the game. Gabe Matthews followed it up with a two RBI-double to give Oregon the 3-2 lead. The Ducks added a run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly.

Oregon attempted a comeback in the top of the ninth inning, down three runs. Ray Soderman was hit by a pitch and Ryne Nelson drew a walk to bring up the tying run to the plate with one out. However, Evan Williams flew out and Kasser grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Game two of the three-game series between the Ducks and Sun Devils is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Tempe, Arizona.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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Sabrina Ionescu and her triple-double led the No. 2-seed Oregon Ducks over the No. 15 Seattle Redhawks 88-45 on Friday at Matt Knight Arena. Oregon advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will face the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday.

Oregon Ducks top performers

Sabrina Ionescu: 19 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds

Ruthy Hebard: 12 points, nine rebounds

Lexi Bando: 11 points, 3-of-6 from 3-point

Oti Gildon: 16 points and six rebounds off the bench

Seattle Redhawks top performers

Alexis Montgomery: 14 points, six rebounds, four assists

Kallin Spiller: 10 points, three rebounds

Madeline Dopplick: Seven points; 2-of-8 shooting

Jacinta Beckley: Six points, 3-of-9 shooting

Team Stats

Oregon Ducks

52.9 field goal percentage; 5-of-17 from 3-point; 9-of-11 free throws

Seattle RedHawks

32.3 field goal percentage; 1-of-19 from 3-point; 4-of-4 free throws

Key Facts:

­—The Ducks led 70-32 after three quarters.

—Sabrina Ionescu got her 10th career triple-double

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At halftime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Oregon leads Seattle 48-16 at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks got off to a hot start, and by halftime nine different players had minutes.

Oregon Ducks top performers:

Sabrina Ionescu: 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds

Ruthy Hebard: Six points, five rebounds,

Lexi Bando: Five points 1-of-2 from 3-point

Oti Gildon: Eight points and six rebounds off the bench

Seattle Redhawks top performers:

Jacinta Beckley: Four points

Madeline Dopplick: Two points

Kallin Spiller: Six points, three rebounds

Alexis Montgomery: Two points, 1-of-7 shooting.

 Team Stats

Oregon Ducks:

51.4 field goal percentage; 1-of-7 from 3-point; 9-of-9 free throws

Seattle RedHawks:

24.1 field goal percentage; 0-of-7 from 3-point; 2-of-2 free throws

 Key Moments:

— Ducks open game on a 10-0 run, led 25-6 after the first quarter

— Seattle shooting 3-of-12 after first quarter; Oregon shooting 10-of-18;

— Oti Gildon, who entered the game off the bench, grabbed a rebound and threw a long pass, leading to an easy bucket to push the Oregon lead to 29.

— Aina Ayuso with a highlight reel crossover and layup

ANKLES.

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