Oregon Baseball Caps Long Homestand With Three Game Sweep of Utah

Oregon and Cal State Fullerton at PK Park. KPNWSports

The Oregon Baseball team started the season 8-0 until they ran into one of the top teams in the country in Cal State Fullerton who swept the Ducks at home and to some put their season in question. The Ducks have rebounded from that three game loss by sweeping Seattle, taking two of three from Ohio State and starting the Pac-12 Conference season by taking two of three from USC and sweeping Utah this weekend all in the friendly confines of PK Park and their longest homestand of the season. The weekend series started on a great note with Starting Pitcher Tommy Thorpe on Friday.

Oregon(17-5, 5-1 Pac-12) maintains their second place spot in the Conference standings behind Oregon State(19-4, 4-1 Pac-12) thanks to Thorpe returning to last year’s form after a shaky start.The Junior Lefthander threw eight innings of three hit ball and the Ducks scored the winning and only run in the eighth inning when Outfielder Nick Catalano scored from second base on a wild pitch.

On Saturday the Ducks Pitchers were at it again, holding the Utes off the scoreboard. Led by Freshman Matt Krook who allowed an unearned run and stuck out six through five innings of work(he also picked up the win). The bullpen of Trent Paddon, Garrett Cleavinger and Jake Reed did the rest in the final four innings. Aaron Payne led Oregon on offense going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the 4-1 Saturday victory.

Sunday was more of the same. Pitching. Former midweek starter turned Sunday Starter Jeff Gold, now 6-0 on the season pitched a stellar eight innings giving up one earned run on three hits. Catcher Shawn Chase was the hero hitting a two run home run, just ten days after his father suffered a heart attack. The Ducks seventh inning rally started with a single by Kyle Garlick, followed by a double from J.B. Bryant and the homer by Chase.

Oregon looks to continue the success on the mound with a midweek set with San Francisco in the Bay Area before continuing Pac-12 play this weekend at Stanford.

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