Ducks able to get some revenge on Gauchos with series finale rout
The Oregon Ducks baseball team needed this.
After falling in the series’ first two games and down 5-0 on Sunday, the Ducks got some revenge on Santa Barbara with a 16-9 pounding to end the weekend.
Oregon improved to 7-3 for the season and the Gauchos returned to .500 at 5-5.
The Ducks were definitely on the precipice of being the victims of a series sweep as they were down big early to UCSB. But Mason Neville’s big three-run homer in the fourth inning got Oregon on the board and the Ducks never stopped scoring.
They scored a run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-4 and then exploded in the sixth with nine runs to take complete control of the game 13-5. In that big inning, the Ducks sent 14 to the plate but just got three hits. Santa Barbara’s bullpen had a tough time finding the strike zone. The Gauchos walked six batters and hit another.
On the day, UCSB walked 12 batters. Oregon’s pitchers weren’t exactly pounding the strike zone either as the Duck hurlers walked nine batters and hit two other Gauchos. It was 16-5 heading into the ninth, but UCSB made things a bit interesting as four runs crossed the plate. Reliever Michael Freund came on for the final out and send everyone home happy.
Neville ended the game with four RBIs and Anson Aroz led the lineup going 4-for-6 with a double and 2 runs batted in.
Now the Ducks go on the road for a short midweek series in Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon where the weather should be better than it was in rainy Eugene. The Lopes are 6-5 overall and just lost two of three at Texas-San Antonio.
Game 1 is scheduled to begin on Tuesday at 6 pm and will be televised on ESPN+. The second and last game of the series will be on Wednesday at 2 pm and will also be on ESPN+.
