To be honest, I was not one of those fans going nuts about the return of baseball to the University Of Oregon after 28 years (in a similar manner to those Oregon State fans who never really cared for their own program until they started winning in the last few years), but Friday afternoon's win in a game with St. Mary's was a lovely diversion on a spring-like day here in the mid-valley.
The Ducks rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead, the key hit being a two-run triple by Jett Hart that accounted for the final two runs as well as the margin of victory.
Oregon got some good pitching in the second inning when starter Tyler Anderson allowed one run, and then pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam with no further scoring. They also got some timely defense, in particular another situation in the seventh when reliever Ryan Fleckenstein, with the bases loaded and one out, got the Gaels batter to hit the ball back to him. Fleckenstein fired the ball to the plate for a 1-2-3 double play that proved to be another critical point of the game. In the ninth, Drew Gagnier induced a game-ending double play.
Radio announcer Brian Prawitz was quite enthusiastic about being there for the return of Oregon baseball, though he did have a Jerry Allen-type moment just before the Ducks took the field for defense for the first time when he mentioned that Anderson could be the "staff of the ace". That very minor quibble aside, he kept my attention for the times I was listening (most of the game, but I did have to let work have its say every once in awhile.)
With my work schedule, it's hard to say how many games I'll personally be able to attend this year, but this win was solid enough to insure that I'll be tuning in to the radio broadcasts whenever I can. Nice job George, keep up the good work and let's go Ducks!
GO DUCKS RECAP
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