Stones of the Yarra Valley

Oregon rallies late to take down Michigan, snap losing skid

· Yahoo Sports

It’s been a tough week for the Oregon Ducks (23-7, 7-3 Big Ten), coming off consecutive shutout losses and a blowout loss to Michigan (15-13, 4-6 Big Ten) on Friday. The Ducks put an end to their losing ways with a 5-1 victory over the Wolverines to even the weekend series at one game apiece.

When the bats finally warmed in the chilly Midwest conditions, the Ducks rallied to take control in the late stages with some timely hitting in a three-run eighth inning. The Oregon arms rebounded from a tough showing in the opener to keep the Wolverines at bay long enough to hold on for the win.

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After Michigan struck first and took a 1-0 lead, the Ducks appeared poised to respond in the third inning, loading the bases with only one out. However, after a mound visit, Michigan pitcher Kurt Barr struck out Oregon’s Dominic Hellman and got Drew Smith to fly out in foul territory. Following consecutive shutouts offensively, the continued slump at the plate for the Ducks seemed to build some frustration.

Oregon’s lifeless offense finally got on the board when Jack Brooks cracked a solo home run to right-center field, tying the game. The leadoff shot in the fifth inning snapped a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings for the Ducks at the plate.

In the seventh inning, the Ducks played some small ball to manufacture a scoring opportunity on the bases. Following a leadoff double by Burke-Lee Mabeus, Brooks laid down a bunt to push the runner to third base. Ryan Cooney came through with a base hit to left field to plate the go-ahead run.

Maddox Molony put on the squeeze play in the eighth inning by laying down a bunt while Smith made a break for the plate. Michigan reliever Gavin Devooght came off the mound and fielded the bunt before flipping the ball to his catcher with his glove, but the flip sailed high and to the backstop, allowing the Ducks to score another run. Mabeus and Cooney continued the rally with an RBI single each to cap the three-run inning.

After a tough day on the mound in the series opener, junior right-hander Collin Clarke played the role of the stopper. Clarke kept the Ducks in the game, tossing six innings for the sixth time this season. He allowed five hits and one run while racking up seven strikeouts.

Tanner Bradley pitched for the second straight day and covered two innings. His streak of nine consecutive scoreless appearances came to an end, but his strong season continued with four strikeouts to bridge the gap from the bullpen. Devin Bell pitched the ninth inning and secured his seventh save.

Oregon may not have fully broken out of its slump at the plate just yet, hitting just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and striking out 10 times in the game, but the Ducks did make strides in the right direction. 

Now, the Ducks will aim to keep their streak of weekend series victories alive in Saturday’s rubber match game, which will be an earlier start than initially expected. Despite the series being moved up a full day to avoid inclement weather, the series finale was moved up to a 10 a.m. local start time, which means it’s an 8 a.m. body-clock game for the Ducks.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ducks offense breaks through with late rally to beat Michigan

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