Oregon suffers fourth straight loss to Oregon State in season-defining sweep
Oregon baseball’s hopes of capturing a Pac-12 title were alive and well coming into this weekend.
But after a three-game sweep at the hand of their in-state rival, that is likely no longer the case.
The No. 24 Ducks fell 4-0 to No. 2 Oregon State Sunday at Goss Stadium. With the win, the Beavers completed a three-game sweep and notched their fourth win over Oregon in the past six days.
When the weekend began, the Ducks were within touching distance of the Beavers and could have leapfrogged them in the Pac-12 standings had they won the series. Instead, Oregon fell to 28-19 on the year and 13-11 in Pac-12 play and now sits four games behind the Beavers, whose lead was bolstered by UCLA’s loss at Washington earlier in the day.
Oregon State was led by Jacob Melton, who went 2-for-3 and launched a two-run homer in the fifth to give the game its final score. In three games this weekend, Melton went 7-for-11 with two home runs and seven RBIs against the Ducks.
The other two Oregon State runs came on a two-run homer from Matthew Gretler in the fourth inning.
Brennan Milone went 2-for-4 for the Ducks, who were held to just four hits on the day and had no answer for Beavers’ starter Jake Pfennigs.
One bright note for Oregon was the performance of starting pitcher Jace Stoffal, who tossed four innings and struck out two while holding a loaded Beavers’ offense to just two runs.
Oregon will now look to bounce back quickly. Its hope of hosting a regional likely evaporated this weekend, but the Ducks will still be very much in the mix for a strong postseason seeding.
They will host UC San Diego for a pair of midweek, nonconference matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday at PK Park in Eugene.
Then, Oregon will travel to Tempe for a three-game set with Arizona State (22-25, 11-12) that begins Friday at 7 p.m.
