Baseball Recap: Peterson Masterful Again, Ducks Swat Away Anteaters 10-1

EUGENE, Oregon— David Peterson continued his string of stellar performances and the offense pounded out ten hits as the Ducks trounced the Anteaters of UC Irvine 10-1 Friday at PK Park.

Peterson, named this week the National Pitcher of the Month, cruised to his seventh victory of the season, giving up only one run on five hits while striking out eleven without issuing a walk in his six innings of work. The left handed junior is now 7-1 on the season, with a PAC-12 Conference-leading 77 strikeouts.

Right handers senior Cooper Stiles and sophomore Parker Kelly relieved Peterson, between them pitching three innings of shutout ball in mop-up rolls for Oregon (19-8), allowing only three hits and one walk while not allowing UC Irvine (12-14) a base runner beyond second to close out the proceedings.

Oregon’s offense knocked around the Anteaters’ pitching all night, stroking ten hits and drawing nine walks, leading to the Ducks’ sixth double-digit run output on the season. Redshirt senior centerfielder Jake Bennett led the charge, going 3-5 on the evening with two runs scored and two triples, including the hit that put the Ducks on the scoreboard:

Junior Kyle Kasser also chipped in with two RBI and two hits, and little-used junior right fielder Taylor Travess had a two hit, two RBI game of his own, including his first triple of the season, a two-run laser which made the score 8-1 in the fifth:

UC Irvine starter Jordan Bocko (0-2) took the loss, giving up six runs, five of the earned, on seven hits in his four innings of work. He also issued two of the eight walks bestowed upon Oregon’s hitters on the night.

The two teams square off again on Saturday in game two of the series, with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm from PK Park.