Pac-12 Baseball: Oregon completes comeback against No. 1 seed, advances to semifinals
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - On day three of the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, Oregon played in a high stakes game against Stanford, the top seed in the conference tournament.
Both teams were 1-0 in the tourney, meaning the winner of the match-up would automatically secure a spot in the semifinals.
And against all odds, the Ducks were able to clinch that spot.
The Cardinal's bats were hot from the very beginning of the game as they scored four runs in the first inning including a Carter Graham two-run home run to left field.
In the second inning, the two teams recorded two runs each which put Oregon down 6-2 going into the third inning. Oregon added another run in the fifth inning on a Rikuu Nishida RBI single but were relatively quiet outside of that.
But once the Ducks made it to the eighth inning, the rally was on. Tanner Smith provided the much-needed spark in the inning recording an RBI to cut the lead to two.
In the ninth, Nishida added another RBI on a sac-fly to center field. Colby Shade took advantage of a throwing error to third while picking up a triple. The high throw was ruled out-of-play and he was able to take home and tie the game up.
Despite having a runner in scoring position, Oregon's defense held Stanford off and forced extras.
In the tenth, the Ducks' offense continued their hot streak.
The first batter in the inning, Sabin Ceballos, hit a solo home run and Jacob Walsh was able to score on a wild pitch to give Oregon a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Stanford was able to get two runners on again but failed to capitalize and the Ducks’ comeback was complete.
Next, Oregon faces No. 3 seed Washington in the semifinals on Friday, May 26 at 2:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
