The No. 8 ranked Ducks followed up their Friday evening victory against the Utah Utes with another 6-2 win Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City. Cole Irvin earned the win for the Ducks, pitching eight complete innings of two run baseball. The win served as Irvin’s 11th of the campaign, which tied him with Alex Keudell for most in a single season in program history.
As was the case on Friday, the Ducks breached the score sheet against the Utah starting pitcher in the early innings of the affair. In the top of the third, J.J. Altobelli knocked in Shaun Chase for the first run of the ball game, and then later scored himself on a single from Aaron Payne.
Oregon was able to tack on a third run in the frame after Payne was able to steal home on a designed double steal with Scott Heineman.
The three runs were more than Irvin needed, but the Ducks did not stop there.
Turning point. George Horton’s squad was able to put two more runs up on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on an RBI single from Steven Packard that scored both Payne and Nick Catalano.
Leading 5-0 in the sixth inning, the Ducks added their final run of the afternoon on a triple from Tyler Baumgartner that scored Altobelli from first. The Utes tacked on two runs in the final innings, but it was too little too late, and the Ducks won the second game of the series 6-2.
On the horizon. Oregon will go for the sweep over the Utes on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.; the game is not televised.