Oregon Baseball wins extra innings thriller over USC to shift postseason picture

After thrilling games on Thursday and Friday Night, everyone knew the rubber match between Oregon and USC would be electric. Both teams came into the series with major postseason implications as each squad is jockeying for positioning in order to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament. A series win for either team meant they'd receive a major bump in the rankings while a loss meant the loser had work to do in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Oregon offense didn’t take long to get on the board as Drew Smith opened the scoring with an RBI groundout before Brayden Jaksa kept his great series going with an RBI single to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Ducks doubled the lead thanks to a Maddox Molony solo shot to left field followed by a Drew Smith RBI single. 

USC struggled against Miles Gosztola for the most part, but home runs allowed in the 3rd and 6th innings allowed the Trojans to hang around in this game. Toby Twist replaced Gosztola in the 6th inning, and he allowed another blast which allowed USC to tie the game after Angel Laya had retaken the lead with a double.

Looking to keep the game tied at 5, Oregon called on closer Devin Bell to pitch the 8th inning. The bold move worked to perfection in the 8th as Bell forced a groundout and recorded a pair of strikeouts to give the Ducks back some momentum. The Trojans came back in the 9th inning and applied max pressure on Bell, getting two runners in scoring position with just 1 out.

After a mound visit, Bell looked like the player we've seen all season long, getting a lineout to first and a punchout to keep the game knotted at 5 sending the stadium into a frenzy.

After the offense failed to score in the bottom of the 9th inning, Oregon and USC went to extra innings, ending the series the same way it started. Bell held serve in his gutsy outing, forcing 3 quick outs to put the game back in the offense's hands, but they failed to deliver the run with two men on and 1 out.

Given how much Devin Bell pitched on Friday, you can't say enough about the performance he turned in. Delivering 4 scoreless innings of relief against a lineup with USC's firepower is beyond impressive, and a moment that should be remembered if this ends up being a special season for the Ducks.

Jonah Barkoff made just his 5th appearance of the season in the 12th inning as the offense couldn't push a run across and delivered an impressive outing with a pair of scoreless frames and 3 strikeouts. Collin Clarke was forced to follow Barkoff to start the 14th inning, and he continued the trend of posting scoreless innings.

Brayden Jaksa was able to reach on an infield single in the 14th before stealing second, giving th Ducks their best chance of the day. Junior Lauaki ground out advancing Jaksa, allowing Burke-Lee Mabeus to lay down the perfect suicide squeeze to give the Ducks the win.

What Oregon's series win means for the Ducks postseason positioning

Winning the series now gives Oregon a great chance to stay at home in Regionals for the start of the NCAA Tournament. Teams like Mississippi State and Ole Miss losing series' give the Ducks' a chance to jump them while other teams took bad losses while winning their series which should also help the Ducks.

Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, the Oregon Ducks won't need to win the entire tournament to clinch a regional, but the Ducks also can't lose their first game. Ideally, the Ducks will win a few games to help bolster their RPI and Rankings in the polls this way there isn't a major concern over where they'll fall on Selection Monday.

The Ducks winning the series gives Oregon the 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning that a matchup against top-ranked UCLA wouldn't happen unless both teams made the championship, which is a much easier path than if they fell to the 4th seed.

Being at home for the first round of the Tournament would be as big an advantage as Oregon could have. The Ducks have now won 22 straight series in Eugene, and being at home for as long as possible only increases the Ducks' chances of going to Omaha.

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