Oregon baseball bats go quiet in Pac-12 Tournament-opening loss to Utah
After finishing third in the conference during the regular season and sitting out the opening day of the Pac-12 Tournament, the Oregon baseball team fell in its opener Wednesday to seventh-seeded Utah, 4-2, in pool play at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona.
The Ducks (37-17, 19-11 Pac-12) never got into a rhythm at the plate against Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Bryson Van Sickle, totaling just four hits and two runs in the loss.
The Ducks couldn’t sustain their hot performance from the dish last weekend against Washington State in the loss with just one RBI from Bryce Boettcher. Oregon’s first run came in the third inning, when Carter Garate drew a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball, to third on a failed pickoff attempt, and home on a wild pitch.
Boettcher knocked in Chase Meggers on a single in the fifth, and that would be all she wrote on the Ducks’ scoring efforts Wednesday afternoon against Utah starter Van Sickle.
The fifth-year senior went seven innings and had six punchouts while allowing both runs with just one earned on four hits and one walk. Utah relievers Merit Jones pitched the final six outs and didn’t allow a hit.
Oregon pitchers struggle to contain Utah
On the other end, Utah totaled 14 hits and really got after Oregon relievers Logan Mercado and Bradley Mullan, who combined to walk four batters in four innings of relief. Mullan was pegged for his first loss of the season out of the pen after entering the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.
Utah infielder Matt Flaharty led his team at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
After a recent strong run in relief, senior transfer Brock Moore got the starting nod for Oregon’s opener Wednesday and pitched four strong innings in his first start of the season. Moore finished with seven strikeouts and allowed two runs on seven hits and a single walk.
What's next for Oregon baseball?
The Ducks don’t have any time to feel sad about themselves with another game against No. 4 USC at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. As the highest-seeded team in their pool, if Oregon takes down USC Thursday, they would advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals on Friday due to the tournament’s tiebreaker rules, with each team in the pool – Oregon, USC, and Utah – at 1-1.
If the Ducks lose, they will be out of the tournament and will await their postseason fate during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 9 a.m. Monday.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Utah tops Oregon baseball in Pac-12 Tournament: How it happened
