February 9, 2012
- Roseburg, Oregon
Duck Baseball: Pricey errors doom Ducks
By Oregon Media ServicesSeattle took a three-run lead in the top of the first and never looked back, defeating Oregon 6-4 on Sunday afternoon at PK Park. With the loss, the Ducks seven-game winning streak was snapped and Oregon falls to 12-6 on the season.
Seattle, which came into the game losers of four straight, improves to 3-11 on the season.
Oregon did not surrender an earned run in the game as three errors proved costly. At the plate, the Ducks offense was limited to four runs on seven hits.
Seattle scored three runs innings in the first inning after a passed ball proved costly. Oregon starter Alex Keudell retired the first two batters and struck out Josh Kalalau for the third out, but a passed ball allowed Kalalau to reach first and keep the inning alive.
Sean Narby then tripled over the head of a diving Curtis Raulinaitis in center field to score Kalalau. Riley Tompkins came to the plate and crushed his second home run of the season over the wall in right-center for a two-run round-tripper. All three runs were unearned, and Keudell caught Mike Malland looking at strike three for the final out of the inning.
Keudell (3-1) took the loss after tossing 5 and 2/3 innings and facing 27 batters. The right-hander allowed five runs – all unearned – and struck out a career-high tying seven.
Oregon added a run in the bottom of the first as Marcus Piazzisi lined a standup double to right field and moved to third on Jack Marder’s groundout to short. Piazzisi was 90 feet away when Rodriguez lined a two-out RBI double into left center.
The Redhawks added two more runs in the top of third after Kalalau led off the inning with a single to right. He moved to second on Narby’s sacrifice bunt, and Tompkins was walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Keudell then fielded an infield blooper and made a his throw to first out of Shawn Peterson’s reach, allowing Kalalau to score from third unearned and Tompkins to move from second to third. Steve Kirbach’s sacrifice fly then scored Tompkins unearned to give the Redhawks a 5-1 advantage.
The Ducks added a run in the bottom of the third when Seattle starter Brian Shannon struck Raulinaitis to put a runner on first. Raulinaitis then tested Kutz behind the plate and stole second before moving to third on Pulfer’s fly out to right. Raulinaitis would later score on Piazzisi’s RBI groundout to bring UO within 5-2.
The Ducks looked to rally and were within one run, 5-4, after the eighth. In the seventh, J.J. Altobelli led off the inning with a single to center and moved into scoring position on Kutz’ passed ball. Junior Mitch Karraker came to the plate in a pinch-hitting situation and hammered a double down the right field line to score Altobelli.
In the eighth, an error and a balk put Piazzisi on base and moved him into scoring position for Peterson’s RBI single that was shot straight back up the middle off reliever Max Whieldon.
The Ducks would come no closer as Cullen Hendrickson led off the top of the ninth with a single to right field. A sacrifice moved the Redhawks’ top batter into scoring position, and another single put runners on the corners with one out as Oregon right-hander Drew Gagnier in relief of Joey Housey. Narby hit a chopper to Pulfer at short , and the sophomore quickly decided to throw to home to retire Hendrickson who had made the break from third to score, but Pulfer’s toss ricocheted off the leg of Rodriguez into foul territory, allowing Hendrickson to score unchallenged as Seattle took a two-run, 6-4, lead.
Shannon earned the win for Seattle, tossing seven innings and frustrating the Oregon batters. He struck out four, allowing three runs on six hits. Whieldon pitched 1 and 1/3 inning of relief allowing one run on one hit, while Bryan Dalton picked up his second save of the season.
The right-hander struck out two and held UO without a hit for the final inning and 1/3.
Oregon lefty Christian Jones also appeared in relief for the Ducks, taking over for Keudell in the sixth inning. Jones, who had not pitched since Feb. 21 at Pepperdine, threw one and 2/3 innings, holding the Redhawks without a hit while fanning one and facing seven batters.
Piazzisi scored two of Oregon’s four runs on the day, while Rodriguez stretched his hitting streak to 10 games, going 2-for-4.
Kalalau was 2-for-5 with two runs scored for Seattle, while Tompkins was walked twice in addition to hitting his second homer of the year.
The Ducks will remain at home next week, hosting Nevada in a four-game series at PK Park. The series begins at 5 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s doubleheader with the Wolf Pack begins at noon, while Sunday’s series finale will have an 11 a.m. first pitch.
Notes: Eddie Rodriguez is now on a 10-game hitting streak and now has six multiple-hit games.
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