Jacob Walsh's walk-off double leads Oregon to comeback win over No. 11 Gonzaga
On Tuesday, Jacob Walsh reminded the world just how dangerous of a hitter he can be.
After a difficult couple of weeks, Walsh busted out of his slump when the Ducks needed him most and delivered a two-run, walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to give Oregon a 5-4 win over No. 11 Gonzaga at PK Park.
For the Ducks, the victory over the Zags will provide a significant boost to their postseason resume. For Walsh, it could be a sign that he’s starting to get back on track and rediscover his form from the start of the year.
“It means a lot,” Walsh said. “It’s baseball; there are ups and downs. So we just try to stay focused and when an opportunity comes make the best of it.”
At one point this season, you could have made an argument that Walsh, a true freshman from Las Vegas, was the most dangerous hitter in Oregon’s lineup. Through the first 20 games of his college career, Walsh was hitting.369 with plenty of power while batting out of the cleanup spot for a program that boasted one of the best offenses in the nation.
But over the past month, his production has fallen off a cliff. Walsh is hitting .292 on the season now and was recently dropped to the No. 8 spot in the batting order.
“The (Pac-12) does a good job of scouting reports and all that,” Walsh said. “I think they saw some stuff in my swing and I’ve been working hard to get that fixed. They’ve tried to throw different stuff at me and just keep me off balance.”
Walsh is at his best when he is hunting fastballs and turning on them, and the Ducks’ conference opponents have done everything possible to limit him from doing that. Oregon’s rocky start to the month has coincided with a particularly difficult stretch for Walsh, who is just 7-for-31 since May 1.
Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski acknowledged that Walsh is dealing with an issue most freshmen face early in their careers.
“These freshmen, they play like 30 games in high school,” Wasikowski said. “They’re already, like, two high school seasons in right now. You see a lot of freshmen across the country kind of taper off the second half of the year. It takes somebody with some serious strength and mental strength to be able to sustain or go at the end of the year.
“I think that’s what you’re seeing with Jacob; he’s not quitting. He’s a tough out and one heck of a prospect.”
The key, Walsh says, has been leaning on a few of Oregon’s veterans, as well as Ducks’ hitting coach Jack Marder.
“He’s just a really good worker,” Kasevich, Oregon’s starting shortstop, said. “He likes to get his reps in and stay consistent. Watching him work through struggles has been awesome — you can see him growing as a player and a person.”
On Tuesday, Walsh went 1-for-4, and like most of the Ducks’ hitters, struggled mightily at times against a strong group of opposing pitchers.
Oregon racked up three quick runs against Gonzaga lefty Braley Mullan in the first inning. Tanner Smith scored on a balk while attempting to steal home, and Josh Kasevich took the very next pitch deep for a two-run homer.
But Mullan settled in and retired the next 11 batters he faced.
The Ducks’ inability to knock the Zags out of the game came back to haunt them in the eighth when Shea Kramer launched a three-run homer that gave Gonzaga a sudden 4-3 lead and put the Ducks on their heels.
Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kasevich gave Oregon a spark with a leadoff single, and Tyler Ganus followed with a picture-perfect bunt to move him to second.
Sam Novitske came on to pinch-hit and drew a walk, and William Riley entered the game to pinch-run for him.
Walsh then stepped to the plate against Gonzaga shutdown reliever Alec Gomez and quickly fell behind 1-2 in the count. But Gomez’s fourth offering was a changeup over the heart of the plate, and Walsh punished the mistake.
“It’s baseball, there are ups and downs,” Walsh said. “We’re just trying to stay focused and when the opportunity comes make the best of it.”
Oregon will hope to build on Tuesday’s momentum this week as it hosts No. 25 Arizona for the final series of the regular season. The series begins Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at PK Park.
