Ducks home season schedule ends in disastrous fashion
This was the absolute last way the Oregon Ducks baseball team wanted to end its home schedule.
Any hopes of hosting an NCAA regional were erased this weekend as the Washington Huskies came into PK Park and swept the Ducks in the weekend series.
Washington outscored Oregon 43-18 in the three-game set, which dropped the Ducks to 31-18 overall and just 14-12 in conference action. The setback also put Oregon into a tie for fifth with Arizona State with one more series to go before the Pac-12 tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Ever since ace pitcher Jace Stoffal has gone down to injury, the Ducks haven’t been the same. They lost two-of-three to USC last weekend and now the sweep to the Huskies, the first time Washington has swept the Ducks since the program was revived back in 2009.
Logan Mercado has taken over the Friday night pitching duties and the Huskies were able to get to him in the fourth inning with five runs. The bullpen wasn’t any better as Washington took the opener 14-5.
It was much worse the next day with the Huskies crossing the plate nine times before the Ducks came up to bat. That 9-0 lead was more than enough for the 18-8 win on Saturday.
In the series finale, the Ducks had a 4-2 lead going into the sixth inning, but the Huskies’ bats came alive with six runs and Washington left Eugene with the 11-5 win and the sweep.
Oregon needs to figure out the pitching problems quickly as the Ducks go to Utah to end the regular season. The series begins on Thursday with a 5:30 pm start and then two day games with Friday and Saturday games beginning at 10 am PST.
