Baseball Recap: Ducks’ Bats Come Alive, Bury Aggies 7-2

EUGENE, Oregon— Fueled by some timely hitting, patience at the plate, and solid pitching, the Oregon Ducks thumped the Aggies of UC Davis 7-2 Monday night at a soggy PK Park.

Freshmen DH Gabe Matthews and third baseman Spencer Steer paced the Ducks’ attack with three hits a piece, freshman right fielder Matthew Dyer had two RBI, and Junior catcher Tim Susnara drew FIVE of the nine walks issued to Oregon batters in a game which saw eight of the nine Duck starters reach base via either a hit or a walk.

The game was scoreless after two-and-a-half until the Ducks finally broke through with three runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to singles by Matthews, Steer, and redshirt senior center fielder Jake Bennett, and an untimely throwing error by Aggies’ shortstop Jacob Thomas.

Each team would score a run in the fourth, Oregon’s courtesy of an RBI single from Matthews to bring home Bennett who had previously walked, and reached second on a passed ball by Aggie catcher Ignacio Diaz. After chasing UC Davis starter Matt Blais (0-1) in the fifth, the Ducks would tag Aggie reliever Chris Brown for two runs in the sixth, with the big blow coming in the form of a two-run triple off the bat of Dyer to make the score 6-1. The Aggies would score another run in the seventh, but the Ducks countered with a run of their own in the eighth when Bennett would score on a fielder’s choice for the final margin of victory.

Ducks’ starter freshman Zack Noll (1-0) pitched a solid five innings in earning his first victory of the young season, giving up only one run on four hits while striking out four. Sophomore reliever Isaiah Carranza went four innings in long relief, allowing one run on five hits while striking out two to pick up his first save of the year.

The Ducks are off until Thursday, when they welcome the UC Santa Clara Broncos to PK Park for a four-game series. First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 6:00 pm.