The Ducks played in Portland on Tuesday.
So much for cold bats! After struggling to score runs against UCLA last weekend, the Ducks turned their offensive fortunes back around in an 11-7 road victory over Portland. The eleven runs scored on Tuesday more than doubled the runs scored over the weekend against the strong Bruin pitching staff, but the Ducks were able to find a bit of a better stroke against the Portland bullpen.
Oregon launched three home runs against the Pilots and were hot all night. Tyler Baumgartner and Shaun Chase hit back to back big flys early in the game, and Brett Thomas hit the third just a short while later in the fourth inning. Baumgartner had the most impressive line at the end of the night: 2-5 with three RBIs and a run scored. Chase added two hits, two runs and an RBI as well.
Oregon’s run production was improved on Tuesday.
The topsy-turvy scoring lines are a product of some shoddy defense, and some middle-of-the-bullpen caliber pitching. Cole Wiper and Jared Priestley each gave up three runs in their two innings a piece (Priestley only had two earned runs), and Jeff Gold allowed another unearned run in his appearance. As always, these midweek contests are rarely a reason for concern when it comes to pitching performances.
Oregon pitching wasn’t quite as sharp, but better offense translated into the win.
Taking a look at the Ducks’ upcoming schedule, it’s always great to have a little B.P. (batting practice) before heading returning to the streak of elite pitching staffs the Ducks have to deal with. UCLA dismissed Oregon fairly easily, but now Stanford is coming to town this weekend. As expected, Oregon will have to deal with the hard-throwing Mark Appell on Friday night, and will have to fight an uphill battle for the rest of the weekend.
It’s not too late for Oregon to get into the swing of things against better pitching staffs. They seem to have the potential to be a strong offensive bunch, but still need a few bigger breaks when trying to rally against the PAC-12 aces.
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Josh is a College Football enthusiast from sunny Southern California. He has written for several self-operated prep sports blogs, as well as multiple SB Nation sites. In High School, Josh played football for four years, and helped create and operate the team’s no-huddle system. Most of Josh’s football knowledge branches from watching College Football his entire life, and is backed up by his first hand experience in both option and spread offenses. Above all, though, he is a proud student at the University of Oregon.
@joshschlichter