Oregon Baseball falls to USC in the Pac-12 tournament
The Oregon Ducks baseball team lost to the USC Trojans 4-2 in the quarterfinal of the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday evening, eliminating the Ducks from the tournament.
Oregon finished Thursday’s contest with nine hits — two fewer than the Trojans’ 11. The game was locked at zeros until the top of the sixth inning when USC put three runs on the board on three separate RBI at-bats. In the next two half-innings, each team scored another run, and Oregon scored again in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome USC.
The Ducks had a chance to send the game to extras in the bottom of the ninth, with Jacob Walsh — Oregon’s home run leader — coming to the plate after a two-out Mason Neville double. But, Walsh’s ended his at-bat like his other four ABs in the game: walking back to the dugout.
Although Oregon finished the regular season with a better record than the Trojans, it’s important to note how USC had been playing leading up to Thursday’s game. Before playing the Ducks, the Trojans had won their last seven games, and they made Oregon their eighth.
A major reason for the Trojans picking up the win was the premier pitching of William Watson, USC’s starter for the day. Watson went six full innings and threw 100 pitches, allowing seven hits, two walks, and one earned run — all while striking out seven batters and keeping Oregon off the scoreboard for five innings.
Oregon is out of the Pac-12 tournament, but this likely isn’t the end of their season. On Monday, selection for the NCAA baseball tournament will take place, for which the Ducks will most likely qualify.
