Oregon Ducks Saturday Recap – Addicted To Quack

Baseball Game 3 vs. Iowa

Oregon baseball finished their regular season with a sweep of the Iowa Hawkeyes, and became the Big Ten regular season champions in the process. Four runs in the sixth and ninth innings sealed the victory with a 13-4 final score.

Jason Reitz was the normal Game 3 starter and served up his normal shakiness in the first inning or two before settling down. Reitz pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run with 4 Ks and 2 BB.

Iowa scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Reitz hit the first batter he faced with a pitch, who then stole second base. The runner reached third on a wild pitch and home plate on a ground-out, putting the Hawks up 1-0.

All was quiet until the third inning, when Carter Garate began the Oregon scoring with a solo home run – his first of two on the day. While Reitz was holding down the Iowa lineup in the fourth and fifth innings, the Ducks used some small ball to score three more runs, leading 4-1 after five innings.

In the sixth inning, Oregon’s offense unleashed the full power of their long ball. Ryan Cooney opened the inning with a solo home run.

With two on base, Jacob Walsh hot a 433 foot monster into the parking lot behind the right center fence.

In the seventh inning, with Ryan Featherston pitching in relief, Iowa hit a solo homer and made the score 8-2. The Ducks responded, and it was Dominic Hellman’s turn to hit a solo home run.

The Hawkeyes added two meaningless runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 9-4. Whatever comeback hopes that Iowa fans may have gingerly cleaved to was completely crushed by Carter Garate’s second home run of the game, a three-run shot over center field.

The 13-4 final ended Iowa’s fleeting hopes of their first Big Ten championship since 1990. Instead, Oregon became a conference champion for the first time since 1974.

Here is your final line:

Oregon baseball has little time to celebrate, because it’s time to gear up for the Big Ten Tournament.

The Ducks have the #1 seed in the tournament, and Oregon first plays #12 Michigan State on Thursday, May 22, at 4:00 pm PT.

Softball vs. Stanford, Weber State

Oregon softball was deficient all the way around as they lost for the first time in regional play at home, dropping their game against the Stanford Cardinal 14-1. The pitching for the Ducks wasn’t super sharp in the first four innings, but the Cardinal held only a 3-1 lead. Oregon’s only run of the game came from a Stefini Ma’ake single.

In the fifth inning, the Cardinal hit a pair of solo home runs, and their 5-1 lead began to feel uncomfortable.

Nothing could have prepared Ducks fans for the flameout that was the sixth inning. Stanford completely shut down Oregon with 9 runs on five hits and 2 LOB.

Weber State defeated Birmingham in the first elimination game on Saturday to face Oregon in the evening elimination match. The Ducks won handily 9-1, but now they’re backed into a corner, because they have to win both of today’s games against Stanford if they’re going to advance from their own regional.

Pitching has been a concern the past six weeks, and that concern continues. The fact is, however, that all facets of Oregon’s game were deficient yesterday, and if that shows up today then the Ducks will have a fast, unceremonious exit from the tournament, and the 2025 season will have ended with a whimper.

Oregon’s elimination game against Stanford is at 3:30 pm PT today. If they survive that match, then the regional final will be played after ~6:00 pm PT.