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Tanner Smith, Oregon Ducks top No. 25 Arizona in pivotal series-opener

Jarrid Denneyby: Jarrid Denney05/20/22jarrid_denney
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Cameron Parker/ScoopDuck

Tanner Smith launched two homers, and Oregon’s bullpen was lights out when it mattered most on Thursday to propel the Ducks to a crucial victory.

Oregon topped No. 25 Arizona 10-4 at PK Park in Eugene to take the first of a three-game set that could be crucial with the postseason looming.

“Friday night wins are always big,” Smith said. “They give you a little momentum going into the next few days. It’s a really big series for us, so we’re gonna come out and try to play our best baseball.”

Smith finished the night 2-for-5 with two bombs and four RBIs to lead the Ducks’ offensive outburst. They finished with 10 hits as a team and Drew Cowley went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .437 on the year.

Oregon ambushed Arizona starter TJ Nichols in the second inning to the tune of five runs.

Nichols has some of the best pure stuff in the Pac-12, but Anthony Hall took home deep for a two-run homer that gave Oregon a 2-1 lead. Four batters later, Smith followed with his first homer of the night — a three-run shot to right that pushed the lead to 5-1.

“(Nichols) was pretty good — he had great stuff,” Smith said. “I think we just kind of kept it simple, eliminated his off-speed pitches, and just really tried to attack the fastball and I think we did a really good job with that.”

Oregon added to its lead in the third when Hall and Bennett Thompson each drove in runs to make it 7-1. Then, Smith led off the fourth with his second homer of the night.

Arizona didn’t go away quietly, though. Oregon reliever Andrew Mosiello ran into trouble in the eighth and loaded the bases before surrendering two runs. That cut the Ducks’ lead to just 8-4 with Arizona star Daniel Susac stepping to the plate as the tying run.

Susac, a projected first-round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, entered the day hitting .368 on the year and has a massive opportunity to carry Arizona back into the game.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski called on closer Kolby Somers to come on, and Somers struck out Susac and Tanner O’Tremba in succession to end the inning and end the threat.

“Really big,” Wasikowski said of Somers’ performance. “When you’re striking a guy out with the bases loaded and it’s a four-run game and (Susac) is going to be drafted inside the first 10 picks in the country this year — yeah, that’s a big out right there.”

Somers then threw a scoreless game to notch his ninth game of the season.

The Ducks and Wildcats will face off for the second game of the series tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT. Isaac Ayon is slated to get the start for the Ducks.

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