Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No. 13 Oregon Ducks needed three home runs to overcome five errors and the Portland Pilots 11-7 in a non-conference baseball game played in breezy conditions on Tuesday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. Ben Grubb homered for the Pilots, who drop to 13-28 overall on the season.
Oregon’s (30-10) first two long flies came in the top of the third inning with the game tied 3-3. Tyler Baumgartner hit a three-run blast that just did clear the fence in right field before Shaun Chase left the yard with a solo shot to left to give the Ducks a 7-3 lead.
The Pilots immediately responded with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame to make it a one-run game. With Jeff Melby on first base, Grubb drilled a pitch from Oregon’s Jared Priestley over the wall in left field to pull the Pilots within pair. It’s the second home run this season for Grubb, a senior catcher.
The Pilots weren’t finished and soon trailed just 7-6 after Brian Frattali scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Barr.
But the Ducks then scored two runs in the fourth inning, one run in the fifth and another in the six en route to the victory.
Oregon used five pitchers on the day with starter Cole Wiper (1-0) picking up the win.
Portland freshman starter Zach Torson (0-6) takes the loss and he was followed by three pitchers out of the bullpen. Freshman reliever Adam Wozniak retired all three batters he faced, while sophomore Kody Watts followed with a scoreless inning-and-two-thirds. Only one of the four runs allowed in by freshman reliever Jackson Lockwood was earned
The Pilots took command of the scoreboard early by scoring the game’s first two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Armenta led off with a double down the left field line before advancing to third base on a fly out from Kramer Scott. Armenta then trotted home courtesy a single by Melby.
Melby would eventually come around to score on a base hit by Frattali and the Pilots enjoyed an early 2-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Ducks responded with three runs in the top of the second after Torson had retired the first two batters of the inning. Oregon pieced together four straight two-out hits to score three runs and jump ahead of the Pilots.
Portland briefly tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Armenta.
Portland’s seventh run came in the bottom of the fifth and was unearned.
Oregon finished with a 15-11 advantage in hits, while the Pilots committed three errors on the day.
Melby, who has reached base safely in 20 straight games, finished with three hits.
The Pilots next welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions to Joe Etzel Field for a three-game West Coast Conference series this weekend. The opener is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, while first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
