Baseball Series Recap: #5 Oregon Ducks vs St. Mary’s Gaels

Your #5 Oregon Ducks took on the St. Mary’s Gaels this week in a two-game series, looking to continue their momentum through the last couple weeks of the regular season. Tuesday’s game kicked off on a hot note, with St. Mary’s driving in two runs in the top of the first inning. But the Ducks would strike back immediately, with Anson Aroz clubbing a 3-run homer over the left field wall and tacking on one more in the 3rd inning on a Mason Neville solo shot to right field, giving Oregon a 4-2 lead after three innings. The Gaels would cut the lead back to 4-3 in the top of inning number four, but Oregon would nab a couple insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th (Carter Garate RBI fielder’s choice, and a Mason Neville sac-fly), giving the Ducks a 6-3 lead, and securing the win. LHP Ian Umlandt pitched a spectacular 6.2 innings, allowing just one run, bringing his season ERA down to a measly 1.89.

Game two on Wednesday evening would not be as close…eventually. The game was scoreless until the bottom of inning number three, until Jacob Walsh (RBI groundout) and Drew Smith (sac-fly to left) made it 2-0 Oregon. The Gaels would get a run back in the top of the 4th on an RBI double with no outs, but that would be the only production they would have throughout the ballgame. Oregon would tack on four more runs in the 6th inning by playing small ball (a Chase Meggers RBI single, a Drew Smith RBI walk, and a couple more RBI singles by Maddox Molony and Parker Stinson), giving them an 8-1 lead, and sealing the victory for the Ducks.

This was a good series win for the Ducks. Because, while they might not get as much attention as their basketball program, St. Mary’s baseball is no pushover. They came into the series a solid 26-20, with a solid chance to win their conference tournament. Hopefully the Ducks can continue their momentum to end the year against Washington and Iowa, neither of whom are easy victories.

As always, ‘Sco Ducks.