Diamond Ducks blank Buckeyes in Columbus, 7-0

Mason Neville crushed a two-run homer in the ninth for the Ducks, his 12th of the year. The Ducks' leadoff hitter is hitting .320 with 26 RBIs and seven stolen bases.
Mason Neville crushed a two-run homer in the ninth for the Ducks, his 12th of the year. The Ducks' leadoff hitter is hitting .320 with 26 RBIs and seven stolen bases. | Amanda Loman/GettyImages

Leftfielder Anson Arroz and shortstop Maddox Malony slammed back-to-back home runs in the second as Oregon baseball whitewashed Ohio State 7-0 at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus Friday afternoon.

In all the Ducks laced 12 hits, including an 8th-inning solo home run by Dominic Hellman and the extra point in the ninth, a two-run homer by Mason Neville in the ninth, his 12th of the year.

Grayson Grinsell took the ball on the mound as the Ducks' series opening starter. He pitched seven scoreless innings for the win, striking out five and walking one while scattering three hits.

Oddly, he had a sluggish start in an otherwise stellar performance. He plugged the first two batters he faced, then got Ellis to pop into a double play to Maloney on an attempted bunt. Pettorini doubled to right, putting runners at second and third with two outs. A flyout to centerfielder Neville ended the threat.

Grinsell settled down after that, sailing through the second and third with 1-2-3 innings as the Ducks led 1-0 going into the fourth.

They busted it open in the visitor half with a two-out rally. Arroz and Malony took Buckeye starter Drew Erdmann deep, then rightfielder Jeffrey Heard singled, alertly advancing to third on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the catcher. A well-executed bunt single by second baseman Ryan Cooney brought him home for a 4-0 lead.

Ohio State threatened in the fifth after a single and a misplayed bunt with Giamarusti advancing the runners to second and third with another bunt, one out. Grinsell snuffed that with a popup and a grounder to short.

He's now 4-1 on the season with a 3.46 ERA, second on the team to Collin Clarke. No. 10 in the country, the Ducks are 8-2 in the Big Ten, in second a game behind Iowa at 10-2. With a season record of 20-5, Mark Wasikowski's squad is on pace for a bid in the NCAA tournament for the fifth year in a row.

A sophomore from Thurston High in Springfield, Oregon, Malony leads the Ducks in hitting at .365 with seven homers and 17 RBI. He's the No. 13 prospect in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft. His grandpa Ronald played catcher for the Ducks in the 60s. Tyson Alger has a profile of him on his website, "The I-5 Corridor."

The series resumes with a game at 11 PDT, carried live on radio on the Oregon Sports Network. It wraps up Sunday with a 3 p.m. tilt. For all their dominance in football, the Buckeyes are dead last in the Big Ten on the diamond, a perfect 0-7 to start the year, 6-16 overall.

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