The hits keep coming, and the wins keep coming.
Oregon’s offense got the boost it needed Saturday night, especially against the No. 6 team in the country, Vanderbilt, on its home turf. The Ducks recorded 10 hits, including massive clutch knocks from Jacob Walsh and Sabin Ceballos — as well as home runs from Tanner Smith and Bennett Thompson — to send a flock of Commodores fans home grumpy. Ceballos also made a web gem in the seventh inning to help the Ducks escape a tight jam, preventing a lethal Commodores offense from staging a comeback.
Oregon ultimately beat Vanderbilt in an 8-7 upset at Hawkins Field. It was the Ducks’ eighth consecutive victory, and brought them within one win of advancing to the Super Regionals.
Oregon got off to a quick start in the top of the first, putting up three runs. Rikuu Nishida was hit by a pitch to lead off, then scored the game’s first run on a throwing error by second baseman RJ Austin after Drew Cowley blooped a single. Ceballos brought Cowley home with a groundout.
On the very next pitch, Smith committed some lefty-on-lefty crime, smashing one into the right field bleachers against Hunter Owen. It was the 90th of his career, tying him with Tom Dodd for the all-time Oregon record. The Ducks had a 3-0 lead before Turner Spoljaric even threw a pitch.
The Commodores got one back in the bottom of the first after a double, a walk and a single that all came with one out. Spoljaric induced a hard lineout to center, then nearly got out of it with a ground ball to Ceballos. But Ceballos bobbled it, loading the bases. Already trapped in a tight spot, Spoljaric got another lineout to center from Austin, who committed the error in the top of the inning. Despite getting hit hard, Spoljaric escaped the first inning with a 3-1 lead.
Thompson kept the energy going in Oregon’s favor in the second. He worked a nine-pitch at-bat, eventually flying one out to right-center that carried for a home run. It was just Thompson’s second homer of the season, and extended the early advantage to 4-1.
But the Commodores kept hitting Spoljaric hard. They immediately set the table with a single and a long double, and both runners came around to score on a sacrifice fly and a groundout. RJ Schreck then walloped a ball deep into the night sky, an absolute no-doubter to tie the game at four apiece.
Spoljaric could have let things spiral out of control. But he settled in, retiring nine in a row. For Oregon, Walsh hit a one-out double in the fourth, but was stranded. The game was tied at 4-4 through four innings.
Owen came out in the fifth after throwing 75 pitches, and that’s when the Ducks got back to work. They retook the lead against another lefty, Ryan Ginter. Nishida slapped his second infield hit of the game, and Colby Shade and Ceballos both lined singles to bring him home.
With two outs, Drew Smith walked to load the bases. Vanderbilt held a team meeting to discuss how to attack Walsh, and it did not pay off. Walsh smacked one that rolled all the way to the wall, clearing the bases and jolting Oregon out to an 8-4 lead. It was an absolutely monumental clutch hit to give the Ducks some breathing room.
Spoljaric worked around traffic and a slew of hard line drives in the fifth and sixth. A two-out double ended his streak of nine in a row, and he got into a mess in the sixth thanks in part to his own error. But lineouts to T. Smith and Shade, along with his second strikeout, got him through his sixth inning of work.
Spoljaric threw 94 pitches in a really solid performance, settling down after some early trouble. It was the third time he’s come up big in his last four outings.
The seventh inning was an adventure for the duo of Austin Anderson and Matt Dallas. Anderson, who entered with a 0.36 ERA, got the first two outs, but lost his control in a hurry. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases. Anderson threw nine consecutive balls, including a handful that weren’t even close. With a 2-0 count, Oregon had to desperately resort to Dallas in the hopes of putting the inning to bed.
Dallas threw two more that weren’t even in the vicinity of the strike zone, which walked in a run. The Ducks were on the brink of disaster. But Dallas induced a soft ground ball, and Ceballos rushed in and made an incredible barehanded play to retire Alan Espinal. It was perhaps the best defensive play of Oregon’s season.
The Ducks struggled to hit right-handed reliever Grayson Moore, keeping their run total at eight. Moore pitched four innings without allowing a hit.
Closer Josh Mollerus took the mound for the ninth after closing Friday’s game. He walked the first hitter, then allowed a two-run homer over the left field monster against Chris Maldonado. But he stayed composed, securing the final outs of the narrow upset victory.
The Ducks will compete for the Nashville Regional championship Sunday at 6 p.m. against the winner of Vanderbilt-Xavier, which will be played Sunday at noon.