Shaun Chase led the Oregon baseball team with a grand slam, a solo home run and five RBIs to send the Ducks past the Pacific Tigers by a score of 14-8 on Tuesday at PK Park.
Porter Clayton was given the mid-week start and was shaky but good enough to earn the win. He went 5.1 innings giving up five runs (four earned), four hits, five walks, and he struck out one.
“Porter’s got good stuff,” head coach George Horton said. “He just has to throw the ball over the plate more consistently.”
The Ducks scored first in the first inning when leadoff hitter Aaron Payne earned a walk and scored on a Mitchell Tolman’s groundout. However, Pacific got the run back in the top of the second when Tolman threw the ball towards third base trying to throw out JP Yakel — who was advancing on a ground ball — but the throw missed the target and got away. Yakel scored on the play to tie the game. That was one of two errors from Tolman on the evening.
“At least he went for it,” Horton said. “I’m never going to question a guy for going for it.”
In the bottom of the inning, Nick Catalano reached base via a walk. Then with a full count, Desmond Santos, who was making his sixth start of the year, doubled to left scoring Catalano. The Ducks took the lead and wouldn’t lose it for the remainder of the game.
In the fourth, Oregon seemed to have broken the game open with five runs. With Tolman at the plate and a 3-1 count, the Tigers decided to intentionally walk him after Kyle Garlick stole second and opened first base. Chase then ripped a line-drive grand slam to left in a 2-1 count for his second grand slam and ninth home run on the season.
“I was a little angry at myself because I struggled this weekend and started out struggling today,” Chase said. “I just tried to put all my at-bats behind me and act like it was my first at-bat of the day.”
But as the game seemed to be in Oregon’s hands, the Tigers answered for five in the sixth. With two runners on, Parker Klein doubled to deep left-center field scoring two. The Tigers added three more on two hits, a walk and a hit batter.
In the seventh, Josh Graham led the inning off with a double and scored on Catalano’s bunt single. Later in the inning, Mark Karaviotis was hit by a pitch and landed on third after stealing second and moving over to third on a fielder’s choice. But Karaviotis was aggressive on the base paths all night and took advantage when the ball got far enough away from Pacific catcher Yakel to score.
In the eighth, the Ducks added three runs to their lead. Chase, with nobody on, started the scoring when he connected for his 10th long ball of the year to dead center.
“It’s always a confidence booster when you hit a home run,” Chase said. “But I didn’t expect to hit another one tonight.”
The Ducks added two more with two hits, two hit batters and a walk, holding the Tigers in the ninth and won by a final of 14-8.
Oregon plays next on the road in Los Angeles, California against UCLA for a weekend series starting Friday at 7 p.m.
Noteworthy:
– Shaun Chase connected for two home runs (9, 10) including a grand slam in the fourth. The home runs make him tied for sixth on Oregon’s all-time single-season home run list.
– Aaron Payne tied the all-time runs scored count (127) with former shortstop J.J. Altobelli, who reached the mark last season.
– Oregon hitters were hit by pitches five times, while the Tigers were drilled three times.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3