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Walks loom large as Oregon drops series finale to No. 7 Stanford

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•04/16/23•

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Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

A banner weekend for the Oregon baseball program nearly got even better on Sunday.

But, after clinching a series win on Saturday, the Ducks squandered an early lead in the finale and missed out on a chance to sweep one of the top teams in the nation.

Oregon fell, 6-4, to No. 7 Stanford Sunday at PK Park in Eugene.

With the loss, UO fell to 24-10 on the year and 9-6 in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal, meanwhile, kept pace in the Pac-12 title race and improved to 23-10 on the year and 11-4 in conference play.

Sabin Ceballos went 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Ducks. Bryce Boettcher, who is also a walk-on defensive back for Oregon’s football team, got his fourth consecutive start in right field and went 1-for-3 with a home run.

But Oregon’s pitching staff walked 10 batters on the day. Ultimately, the free passes proved costly.

The Ducks led 4-0 after two innings but slowly watched their lead dissipate as the Cardinal clawed their way back into contention.

Oregon got off to an electric start in the bottom of the first when Colby Shade cracked a one-out single, advanced to second on a throwing error, and later advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Drew Cowley followed with a walk, and then Ceballos crushed a three-run homer to left off Stanford starter Joey Dixon.

One inning later, Boettcher launched his first home run of the season to extend the Oregon lead to 4-0.

But the Cardinal answered back immediately.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski opted to pull his starter, freshman righty Leo Uelmen, with nobody out in the top of the third after the leadoff batter reached on an error and the next batter walked.

Wasikowski turned to shutdown right-hander Matt Dallas, who has been one of the Ducks’ more reliable relievers in 2023.

However, Dallas walked the first two batters he faced. His second walk brought home Malcom Moore from third base, cutting Oregon’s lead to 4-1.

Drew Bowser followed with a sac fly to make it 4-2, and then Alberto Rios doubled to left to make it a one-run ballgame.

In the top of the fifth, Stanford cleanup hitter Braden Montgomery launched a solo homer to tie the game.

Stanford took control of the game for good in the top of the seventh when Montgomery ripped an RBI single off Austin Anderson to bring home the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Anderson walked Rios with the bases loaded to give the game its final score.

Oregon sent its 1-2-3 hitters to the plate in the eighth, but Stanford reliever Drew Dowd sat them down in order.

In the ninth, Dowd stayed on and retired Ceballos, Tanner Smith, and Jacob Walsh to end the game.

The Ducks will look to bounce back this week when they travel north to face Portland at 5 p.m. PT.

Then Oregon will head to Berkeley for the weekend and face off with Cal (16-16, 5-13) for a three-game series.

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