Sunday, March 2
Eugene, Ore.
12:05 p.m.
University of Oregon
10-2
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Columbia
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Columbia
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Oregon
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Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Shutout Clinches Series Sweep At PK Park
03/02/25 | Baseball
Freshman Will Sanford and three relievers combined to blank Columbia on two hits Sunday.
EUGENE, Ore. — After a weekend of offensive fireworks, the Oregon baseball team used a two-hit shutout to complete its first series sweep of the young season.
A day after the Ducks scored a program-record 35 runs in the opening game of a doubleheader, freshman Will Sanford and three relievers team up to blank Columbia, 7-0, at PK Park on Sunday. No. 11 Oregon improved to 10-2 on the season after the four-game sweep of the Lions.
"We didn't hit a homer today, and we won," UO coach Mark Wasikowski, whose team hit 11 home runs in the previous three games of the series. "You need to win in a lot of different ways, and the pitchers showed up today. For us to go game-four shutout is really good."
Sanford, a freshman from San Diego, threw six innings of one-hit ball before Santiago Garcia, Jaxon Jordan and Seth Mattox completed the shutout. Sanford struck out seven and walked one.
"It's good to have a good defense behind you, for sure," Sanford said. "I didn't have the best swing-and-miss stuff, but I trust those guys, all of them."
A run on an infield single in the second was all Sanford needed for support. But the Ducks added on with two in the seventh and four in the eighth to break the game open, at the end of a long weekend.
"I thought that was fantastic," Wasikowski said. "So when they were their most tired, they were still able to find something — to dig deep and come through."
How It Happened: Sanford allowed a two-out single in the first, then retired the next nine in a row. The Ducks got him the lead in the second, when Burke-Lee Mabeus doubled with one out, moved to third on a fielder's choice and scored on an infield hit by Ryan Cooney.
Sanford allowed a runner to reach scoring position for the first time in the fourth, on a walk and a wild pitch with two out, but he struck out the next batter. A two-base error with one out in the sixth put another runner in scoring position, but Sanford retired the next two in order.
First up out of the bullpen was the left-hander Garcia. Less than 24 hours after allowing a single to the only batter he faced in Saturday's doubleheader nightcap, Garcia got five outs Sunday, striking out four.
"Second chances come around," he said. "I'm just glad I had the opportunity, and grateful that I got to get out there today and show what I got."
After Garcia worked the top of the seventh, the Ducks added some insurance in the bottom of the inning. Three walks loaded the bases, Anson Aroz was hit by a pitch to force in a run and another came across when Maddox Molony drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Jordan relieved Garcia and got the final out of the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Carter Garate's one-out double scored Cooney and sparked a four-run inning — Mason Neville singled to score Garate, and Aroz later added a two-run single.
"It's a Sunday of a very long weekend," Garate said. "It just comes back to our practice, and we just try to grind it out. Late in those innings in the last game, it's a grind, but we're trying to just focus on that inning and no matter what game it is, just trying to focus on getting pluses and score."
After Jordan retired the leadoff hitter in the ninth, Mattox entered and preserved the shutout despite two batters reaching bases.
Up Next: The Ducks host Utah Tech on Tuesday (4:05 p.m., B1G+) before opening Big Ten play at USC on Friday.
A day after the Ducks scored a program-record 35 runs in the opening game of a doubleheader, freshman Will Sanford and three relievers team up to blank Columbia, 7-0, at PK Park on Sunday. No. 11 Oregon improved to 10-2 on the season after the four-game sweep of the Lions.
"We didn't hit a homer today, and we won," UO coach Mark Wasikowski, whose team hit 11 home runs in the previous three games of the series. "You need to win in a lot of different ways, and the pitchers showed up today. For us to go game-four shutout is really good."
Sanford, a freshman from San Diego, threw six innings of one-hit ball before Santiago Garcia, Jaxon Jordan and Seth Mattox completed the shutout. Sanford struck out seven and walked one.
"It's good to have a good defense behind you, for sure," Sanford said. "I didn't have the best swing-and-miss stuff, but I trust those guys, all of them."
A run on an infield single in the second was all Sanford needed for support. But the Ducks added on with two in the seventh and four in the eighth to break the game open, at the end of a long weekend.
"I thought that was fantastic," Wasikowski said. "So when they were their most tired, they were still able to find something — to dig deep and come through."
How It Happened: Sanford allowed a two-out single in the first, then retired the next nine in a row. The Ducks got him the lead in the second, when Burke-Lee Mabeus doubled with one out, moved to third on a fielder's choice and scored on an infield hit by Ryan Cooney.
Sanford allowed a runner to reach scoring position for the first time in the fourth, on a walk and a wild pitch with two out, but he struck out the next batter. A two-base error with one out in the sixth put another runner in scoring position, but Sanford retired the next two in order.
First up out of the bullpen was the left-hander Garcia. Less than 24 hours after allowing a single to the only batter he faced in Saturday's doubleheader nightcap, Garcia got five outs Sunday, striking out four.
"Second chances come around," he said. "I'm just glad I had the opportunity, and grateful that I got to get out there today and show what I got."
After Garcia worked the top of the seventh, the Ducks added some insurance in the bottom of the inning. Three walks loaded the bases, Anson Aroz was hit by a pitch to force in a run and another came across when Maddox Molony drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Jordan relieved Garcia and got the final out of the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Carter Garate's one-out double scored Cooney and sparked a four-run inning — Mason Neville singled to score Garate, and Aroz later added a two-run single.
"It's a Sunday of a very long weekend," Garate said. "It just comes back to our practice, and we just try to grind it out. Late in those innings in the last game, it's a grind, but we're trying to just focus on that inning and no matter what game it is, just trying to focus on getting pluses and score."
After Jordan retired the leadoff hitter in the ninth, Mattox entered and preserved the shutout despite two batters reaching bases.
Up Next: The Ducks host Utah Tech on Tuesday (4:05 p.m., B1G+) before opening Big Ten play at USC on Friday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sanford, Will (1-0)
L: Sheets,Joe (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1 ; Garate, Carter 1
RBI: Neville, Mason 1 ; Aroz, Anson 3 ; Molony, Maddox 1 ; Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Garate, Carter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neville, Mason 1 ; Hellman, Dominic 1 ; Gimenez, Jax 1 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1 ; Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Garate, Carter 2
SB: Neville, Mason 2 ; Gimenez, Jax 1 ; Cooney, Ryan 1
HBP: Aroz, Anson 1 ; Molony, Maddox 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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