Oregon Ducks Baseball: Ducks huge inning buries Buckeyes

Ohio State came into this game as a team who could score runs. They had been held scoreless only once this season against Auburn. Tommy Thorpe and the Ducks had other ideas for Ohio State though as the Ducks erupted in the 4^th inning for 7 runs and Thorpe shut the Bucks down through 7 innings pitched en route to an 8-2 victory to open the series with the Buckeyes.

Oregon's first run was a gift as they benefited from an error by third baseman, Jacob Bosiokovic. He found himself unable to handle a hot ground ball that ate him up, allowing Mark Karaviotis to get to first scoring AJ Balta.

Things really came unraveled for the Buckeyes in the fourth inning. With one down, Kyle Garlick hit a towering shot deep to left field. With his back to the wall, left fielder Tim Wetzel was unable to come up with a catch allowing Garlick to get around to third with what was scored a triple.

Following a walk, J.B. Bryant singled through the middle to score Garlick before Jack Kruger also drew a base on balls. Solid through 3, OSU pitcher Greg Greve seemed to lose command of his pitch. He plunked Aaron Payne and the next three batters would tally RBI's as the Ducks batted around.

"Any time you can put up a crooked number like that in PK Park, you're going to win a lot of games," said Tyler Baumgartner.

In that span, the Ducks really capitalized on the base paths. While Ohio State was trying to throw runners out at the plate; who they had no chance at, the Ducks were running the bases turning singles into doubles and keeping pressure on the Buckeye's pitchers.

"We're always looking for the extra base. We try to teach our guys to run in twos. When an outfielder has the chance to throw out the lead runner it's automatic. The hitter is going to spin for two," said coach George Horton.

While the Ducks capitalized on Ohio State's defensive miscues, Tommy Thorpe was absolutely dealing on the mound. Thorpe allowed only 2 hits in 7 innings pitched. He also set a new career high in strikeouts as he fanned 10 batters in his dominate performance.

Not to be lost in the performance was relief pitcher Adam Niemeyer. The 6'3" freshman came on after Greve's troubles and struck out 8 in relief, effectively shutting Oregon's offense down. Unfortunately for him, the damage had already been done.

The win marks the third in a row for the Ducks after getting swept by Fullerton and look to have things back in order. They will be back at it tomorrow at PK Park in the second game of the series against Ohio State.