Two weeks ago, Oregon looked lost at the plate. Its season appeared to be in jeopardy.
The Ducks had lost five of their last seven games and were coming off an ugly 12-2 loss to open a home series against California on April 8. In that game, Oregon starter Cole Irvin gave up 10 runs and 15 hits in five innings. It appeared that his preseason guarantee that Oregon would reach the College World Series was out of the question for the 12-12 Ducks.
Since then, Oregon has looked like an entirely different ball club.
The Ducks peppered USC with 13 hits and picked up an 8-5 win Sunday afternoon to complete a sweep of the Trojans and extend their winning streak to five games. During that streak, they have outscored opponents 39-25.
“We’re optimistic; we’re swinging the bat well and hitting well,” Oregon center fielder Austin Grebeck said. “We’re just having quality at-bats, and that’s contagious. You get up there and get pitchers on the ropes and get a good pitch to hit. That makes it easy to turn it around.”
Sophomore lefty David Peterson grabbed his third win of the season and lowered his season ERA to 1.59 in five innings of work. All nine Oregon starters picked up base hits. Jake Bennett and Kyle Kasser each had two hits and two RBI to lead the way for the Ducks.
The Ducks scored five runs in the first two innings, and did so without getting an extra-base hit until Bennett’s RBI double drove home their fifth run. Oregon was in control for much of the game, but the Trojans cut their lead to 6-5 after a three-run home run by Adalberto Carrillo in the eighth.
Oregon closer Stephen Nogosek kept the Ducks’ lead intact, though, and picked up a four-out save to close the door on a USC comeback. Nogosek pitched in all three games of the series and picked up two critical saves for the Ducks.
“I’m not letting that guy leave,” Oregon head coach George Horton joked after the game.
Oregon’s starting pitching received much of the praise heading into the season, but it’s the Ducks’ offense that has kept them afloat of late. Freshman shortstop Travis Moniot homered in both the Friday and Saturday games of the USC series. Sophomore outfielder A.J. Balta drove in six runs during the USC series. Balta has returned to being the middle-of-the-order power bat that many Duck fans hoped he would be at the start of the season.
“We’ve had it in us the whole time, and it’s nice to finally see that it’s coming alive and things are coming together,” Nogosek said. “It’s nice to finally see that we’re doing what we’re capable of.”
The Ducks are still a long way from reaching Omaha as Irvin predicted they would, but 17-12 looks a lot better than 12-12. They are now fourth in the Pac-12.
The hardest part of Oregon’s schedule is out of the way. It will not face Utah or California again during the regular season, and the only ranked team remaining on its schedule is Oregon State. The Ducks will play the Beavers five times, including Monday at home for a non-conference matchup.
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