Ducks flying high after Civil War series sweep

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski appreciated the resilience of his players, who rallied from a 4-2 deficit to claim an 8-4 win over Oregon Tuesday night and a four-game sweep of the Civil War series

CORVALLIS — Oregon State came into its four-game series with Oregon on a roll and exited on a skid.

The Ducks entered with uncertainty flagged with a pair of recent losses to the University of Portland and left on a high.

Funny how baseball can be sometimes.

Oregon put an exclamation point on its biggest week of the season with an 8-4 victory Tuesday night at Goss Stadium, finishing a sweep in the Civil War rivalry that had previously been dominated by the Beavers.

Oregon State came into last Friday night’s series opener at Eugene with a 32-7 record, a top-10 ranking, a nation-leading win streak of 12 games and aspirations of a top eight national seed and in position to play host to a Regional and Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

If that chance still exists, Oregon at least put a mountain-sized chink in the armor.

The Ducks (now 31-12) were nationally ranked, too, but hadn’t shown the consistency or the pitching to be considered a serious College World Series threat.

All that changed with Oregon’s four-game sweep, running its streak of victories over Oregon State to six dating to last season. It was the first time the Ducks have swept OSU in a season series since they reinstated their program in 2009. The Beavers had won 10 of the previous 13 meetings.

After losing three games in Eugene, Tuesday’s game at Goss had a must-win feel for the Beavers. It certainly had to mean more to them than the Ducks, who had already wrapped up the series win.

Through five innings, Oregon State led 4-2, using a solo home run by Gavin Turley and five strong innings by starting pitcher Wyatt Queen. The difference could have been — should have been — more, though. In the third, OSU loaded the bases with no outs on a Turley double sandwiched between two walks, and got no runs out of it. In the fourth, the Beavers got their first two batters on base, but plated only one run. They managed only one hit — an infield single by Trent Caraway — the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, Oregon hung in. In the sixth, Oregon State went to left-handed reliever Tanner Douglas, who came in with a 10.22 ERA. When Douglas departed four batters later, Oregon had gone hit batter, single, sacrifice and walk to load the bases. The Ducks ended the inning with three runs on two hits and a 5-4 lead they built upon with two runs in the seventh and another in the ninth.

NEW: The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.

“They got down and they battled back,” said Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski, who has gradually built an offensive powerhouse in his sixth year at the UO helm. “They didn’t quit. They showed a lot of toughness with that. This is a hard place to play. (Oregon State) is a very good program. I was happiest with the personality of our team, to be able to fight through some adversity and be able to play their best when they needed to tonight.”

Oregon’s pitching did a number on the Beaver bats that have been loud much of the season. They entered the series averaging eight runs and 10 hits a game, with 66 home runs while sporting a .302 average in 39 games.

In the four games against the Ducks, OSU managed a total of nine runs, 22 hits, one homer and a .185 average.

Oregon, meanwhile, scored 28 runs, slugged 10 homers and created havoc on the base paths with 14 stolen bases (to none for the Beavers).

“We have to play better baseball,” Oregon State coach Mitch Canham said after Tuesday’s loss, “if we expect to win.”

In Tuesday’s tilt, Oregon pitchers walked nine batters and hit Turley with two pitches. Duck defenders picked them up by executing four double-plays.

“We had some good offensive performances,” Wasikowski said after Tuesday’s finale. “The defense was on point. It wasn’t perfect, but it is not going to be when you are playing against a really good team. Oregon State is a really good team. We were fortunate enough to come out on top.”

Wasikowski doesn’t have a lot of players from Oregon on his roster, but his keystone combination — shortstop Maddox Molony from Springfield’s Thurston High and second baseman Ryan Cooney from Portland’s Jesuit High — had a big series. On Tuesday, Cooney went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and smashed only his third homer of the season.

“Our in-state players did very well,” Wasikowski said. Cooney, he said, “is a complete player, a team player, a locker room guy, a tough kid. He hit the heck out of that ball tonight. I am sure this means a lot to him.

“In the series, Molony was a stud. The last few days were really special for those two guys.”

Turley was the only Beaver to show much moxie at the plate in the series. Shortstop Aiva Arquette, Oregon State’s most valuable player through the season, was 0 for 4 with a walk Tuesday. He grounded into a double play in the first inning; in the ninth, with two runners on and one out and a chance to do some damage, he grounded to third.

I was impressed with Wasikowski’s attitude after the game. He was pleased but not gloating. He went out of his way to compliment Oregon State (in contrast to his predecessor, George Horton, who declared at his first press conference that he intended to rule the state of Oregon). When asked what effect the series sweep might have on the rest of Oregon’s season, Wasikowski was measured and modest in his response.

“I am not a prophet,” he began. “This was a good win. It has been a good last couple of days. It is great for our fans. That is exciting for us, because we are trying to build our program.

“We have a lot of respect for (Oregon State’s) program. They have won three national championships. We have not. We understand that. I hope this is a springboard. We will see as time goes.”

Oregon State coach Mitch Canham said he is not worried about the psyche of his players after getting swept by Oregon — “We are tough as nails”

I asked Canham if he is concerned about his players’ psyche after losing all four games of the series.

“Beaver baseball players? No,” he said. “I am not worried about that. We are tough as nails. You are going to go through some hard times. If someone is concerned, they wouldn’t be in that clubhouse.

“Of course you are mad. You never want to drop any games, but this no time to be sad or panic. It is time to go to work. Same thing it has always been.”

There is still plenty of baseball yet to be played. Both teams have a three-game series against Big Ten leader Iowa remaining. Oregon State begins a four-game set at Hawaii (28-14) on Friday. Oregon still has three games against Washington to play.

The Ducks have given themselves plenty of momentum. The Beavers face uncertainty and the need to get their act together. No time to waste — the start of the NCAA Tournament is but a month away.

► ◄

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

Follow me on X (formerly Twitter).

Like me on Facebook.

Find me on Instagram.