Saturday, April 25
Eugene, Ore.
4:05 p.m.
University of Oregon
31-11, 14-6
5
vs
4
Penn State
12-28, 5-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Walk-Off Walk Caps Comeback By Ducks
04/25/26 | Baseball
Oregon fell into an early 4-0 hole but chipped away at that deficit to force extra innings and beat Penn State on Saturday.
EUGENE, Ore. — In a hole early, Oregon regrouped, reversed momentum and rewarded a near sellout crowd with a walk-off win.
After the No. 19 Ducks fell behind by four runs to Penn State in the first inning Saturday, the UO staff bounced back with 8.1 innings of shutout pitching. The Oregon lineup, meanwhile, methodically chipped away at that lead, forcing extra innings and then ending it in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk for a 5-4 victory.
Jack Brooks drove in the winning run by drawing Oregon's fourth walk in the bottom of the 10th. He came up with two outs, fell into an 0-2 hole, worked the count full and then took ball four to the delight of the 16th-largest crowd in PK Park history, 3,946 fans.
"It's a little nerve-racking going into it — the stadium's loud, everyone's on their feet," Brooks said. "But you've got to embrace the moment, just have fun with it. It's still the same game that you played all your life; can't make the moment too big. Just kind of got it done, so that's cool."
Collin Clarke started for the Ducks and allowed three of the first four batters he faced to score, part of a four-run first inning for the Nittany Lions. But he rebounded to pitch into the sixth, before Luke Morgan, Toby Twist and Devin Bell blanked the Nittany Lions the rest of the way.
"Whenever Clarke's on the mound, he gives the entire staff just this boost of energy all the time," said Bell (2-4), who got the last seven outs for the win. "Even if it's not going his way, he holds his composure well. And I think that's just what leads to our pitching staff doing good coming out of the bullpen."
Many in the crowd Saturday evening began their day at the Oregon football team's Spring Game, next door to PK Park at Autzen Stadium. Then they migrated to the ballpark, and created an atmosphere that helped fuel the Ducks' comeback.
"It's good to have that backing you up, because I know it's hard to play in an environment like that," Brooks said. "But when it's on your side, it's a lot easier."
How It Happened: The third batter of the game hit an RBI double off Clark, and the Penn State clean-up hitter followed with a two-run homer. Brooks, playing in center, had a bead on that ball but wasn't able to haul it in at the wall; he made up for it later in the game, but the play was still on his mind.
"Our thing is, if it's arms reach away, you should be able to catch it," Brooks said. "I should have caught it. Sorry to Clarke, but the way that he responded to that — what did we have, eight shutout innings after that? I mean, the pitching staff is electric. It's fun to watch."
A two-out RBI single made it 4-0 before the Nittany Lions were done in the first. But they were also done for the day.
Oregon quickly began to rally, loading the bases in the bottom of the first on three singles and making it 4-1 on an RBI groundout by Angel Laya. A two-out rally in the third got the Ducks within 4-2, when Drew Smith singled and Laya followed with an RBI double.
Twist replaced Clarke after a two-out double in the sixth, and Twist struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. He then struck out the side in the seventh, and Oregon tied it in the bottom of the inning when Brooks bunted to advance Naulivou Lauaki Jr. and Jax Gimenez into scoring position, before each came home on a fielder's choice.
Twist struck out the first two hitters in the eighth before the next two Nittany Lions reached. Bell entered the game with runners at the corners, stranding the go-ahead run at third base with a strikeout.
"We had two outs; I just had to get weak contact or strike them out," Bell said. "I struck them out, and it felt great."
Bell rolled through the top of the 10th, throwing a 1-2-3 inning. Laya walked and stole second to open the bottom of the 10th, Maddox Molony walked to put two on, Lauaki was walked intentionally with one out and first base open, and Brooks followed with his high-drama, two-out walk to end the game.
"The guys in front of me did their job," Brooks said. "I mean, they all got on base, so that's props to them. They did what they had to do, and then all I had to do is just try to keep it simple and do what I could do."
The win clinched the series for the Ducks entering Sunday's finale, giving Oregon wins in 22 of 24 series over the past two seasons.
Up Next: The Ducks host the series finale Sunday (noon, B1G+).
After the No. 19 Ducks fell behind by four runs to Penn State in the first inning Saturday, the UO staff bounced back with 8.1 innings of shutout pitching. The Oregon lineup, meanwhile, methodically chipped away at that lead, forcing extra innings and then ending it in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk for a 5-4 victory.
Jack Brooks drove in the winning run by drawing Oregon's fourth walk in the bottom of the 10th. He came up with two outs, fell into an 0-2 hole, worked the count full and then took ball four to the delight of the 16th-largest crowd in PK Park history, 3,946 fans.
"It's a little nerve-racking going into it — the stadium's loud, everyone's on their feet," Brooks said. "But you've got to embrace the moment, just have fun with it. It's still the same game that you played all your life; can't make the moment too big. Just kind of got it done, so that's cool."
Collin Clarke started for the Ducks and allowed three of the first four batters he faced to score, part of a four-run first inning for the Nittany Lions. But he rebounded to pitch into the sixth, before Luke Morgan, Toby Twist and Devin Bell blanked the Nittany Lions the rest of the way.
"Whenever Clarke's on the mound, he gives the entire staff just this boost of energy all the time," said Bell (2-4), who got the last seven outs for the win. "Even if it's not going his way, he holds his composure well. And I think that's just what leads to our pitching staff doing good coming out of the bullpen."
Many in the crowd Saturday evening began their day at the Oregon football team's Spring Game, next door to PK Park at Autzen Stadium. Then they migrated to the ballpark, and created an atmosphere that helped fuel the Ducks' comeback.
"It's good to have that backing you up, because I know it's hard to play in an environment like that," Brooks said. "But when it's on your side, it's a lot easier."
How It Happened: The third batter of the game hit an RBI double off Clark, and the Penn State clean-up hitter followed with a two-run homer. Brooks, playing in center, had a bead on that ball but wasn't able to haul it in at the wall; he made up for it later in the game, but the play was still on his mind.
"Our thing is, if it's arms reach away, you should be able to catch it," Brooks said. "I should have caught it. Sorry to Clarke, but the way that he responded to that — what did we have, eight shutout innings after that? I mean, the pitching staff is electric. It's fun to watch."
A two-out RBI single made it 4-0 before the Nittany Lions were done in the first. But they were also done for the day.
Oregon quickly began to rally, loading the bases in the bottom of the first on three singles and making it 4-1 on an RBI groundout by Angel Laya. A two-out rally in the third got the Ducks within 4-2, when Drew Smith singled and Laya followed with an RBI double.
Twist replaced Clarke after a two-out double in the sixth, and Twist struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. He then struck out the side in the seventh, and Oregon tied it in the bottom of the inning when Brooks bunted to advance Naulivou Lauaki Jr. and Jax Gimenez into scoring position, before each came home on a fielder's choice.
Twist struck out the first two hitters in the eighth before the next two Nittany Lions reached. Bell entered the game with runners at the corners, stranding the go-ahead run at third base with a strikeout.
"We had two outs; I just had to get weak contact or strike them out," Bell said. "I struck them out, and it felt great."
Bell rolled through the top of the 10th, throwing a 1-2-3 inning. Laya walked and stole second to open the bottom of the 10th, Maddox Molony walked to put two on, Lauaki was walked intentionally with one out and first base open, and Brooks followed with his high-drama, two-out walk to end the game.
"The guys in front of me did their job," Brooks said. "I mean, they all got on base, so that's props to them. They did what they had to do, and then all I had to do is just try to keep it simple and do what I could do."
The win clinched the series for the Ducks entering Sunday's finale, giving Oregon wins in 22 of 24 series over the past two seasons.
Up Next: The Ducks host the series finale Sunday (noon, B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bell, Devin (2-4)
L: Ben DeMell (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Bryce Molinaro 1 ; Preston Yaucher 1
HR: Spencer Barnett 1
RBI: Bryce Molinaro 1 ; Spencer Barnett 2 ; Avery Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jayden Davis 1 ; Bryce Molinaro 1 ; Spencer Barnett 1 ; Kevin Karstetter 1
SB: Kevin Karstetter 1 ; Preston Yaucher 1
HBP: Jayden Davis 1 ; Kevin Karstetter 1
Batting:
2B: Laya, Angel 1
RBI: Brooks, Jack 1 ; Jaksa, Brayden 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Laya, Angel 2
SH: Brooks, Jack 1 ; Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Mabeus, Burke-Lee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooks, Jack 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Laya, Angel 1 ; Lauaki Jr., Naulivou 1 ; Gimenez, Jax 1
SB: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Laya, Angel 2
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
lf/1b
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballUTL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballMark Wasikowski | Postgame vs. Penn State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
Toby Twist | Postgame vs. Penn State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
Jack Brooks | Postgame vs. Penn State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
Devin Bell | Postgame vs. Penn State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
