Aaron Zavala Powers Oregon Ducks Offense In Win vs Oregon State
The Civil War on the Baseball Diamond has gone the way of Oregon State the last few seasons, but Tuesday may have marked a turning point for the Oregon Ducks.
Coming off a split of a four-game series over the weekend against Fresno State, Head Coach George Horton took his team into Goss Stadium in Corvallis for a midweek game against the Oregon State Beavers. The Ducks struck first.
Oregon came out with five runs off five hits in the first inning. The Oregon Ducks hit .333 for the game and even better with runners in scoring position batting at a .818 clip. Oregon State did not go quietly though.
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The Beavers tied the game in the seventh inning but Oregon came back on Offense with four runs in the top of the eighth to win the game 12-8. The Oregon Ducks had 13 hits led by Aaron Zavala who finished the day with 2 hits, 2 runs, five RBI’s and 2 doubles. Spencer Steer, Gabe Matthews, and Jonny Deluca helped get Oregon ahead in the first inning. Six pitchers saw the ball for Oregon in the game as Horton went with his standard mid-week lineup. Nico Tellache earned the win, but it was Ryne Nelson who shut the door in the final two innings giving up just a walk and striking out four.
The Oregon Ducks did face some adversity with their bullpen in the seventh, but their bats made up for it. The Ducks came through in clutch situations throughout the game scoring seven runs with two outs. The 12 runs Oregon scored were the most against Oregon State since 1978.
With the win, Oregon also snapped a 10-game losing streak to Oregon State and tie the series. The Oregon Ducks now return to Conference play and face Washington State in a three-game series on the road starting Friday at 5 pm Pacific Time.