Yesterday showed me why the RBI stat is important; who gets it done when there are runners in scoring position?

Today Oregon faces Jarvis Evans of Purdue, ERA of 4.02 and he will face the Ducks Cal Scolari who has an ERA of 0.64, thus this should be another good one!

0-0 after one inning. Ducks stranded Dominic Hellman on base, and Cal Scolari retired the side, but first gave up a lead-off double. Then he teamed with Maddox Molony to complete a perfect pick-off at second base.

1-0 Ducks after two innings. Maddox Molony hit an infield dribbler that he outran for the hit. He moved to third on outs, and then Jack Brooks hit a blooper over second base that scored Molony.

BTW...the pitcher for Purdue beat Oregon State earlier this season. He has his moments...

Oregon's Cal Scolari finished them off 1-2-3, and has a low pitch count of only 19 pitches in two innings. Cool!

5-4 Ducks after three innings. Jax Gimenez got it started with a hit to short-RF, and then Dominic Hellman hit a screamer-double just inside the left field line to score the speedy Gimenez from first base! Hellman advanced to third base on a sac-fly to move him, and the Drew Smith zings a hit to shallow RF to score Hellman.

The incredible freshman, Angel Laya then blows things open with a homer over the RF wall to score two!

Unfortunately, Cal Scolari lost some control this inning. He walked and plinked a batter, who then scored later on a bloop single. Another hit went to the wall, and Jack Brooks hit the wall hard trying to catch it, and was dazzled...and collapsed. Thus an in-the-park homer scored three.

We have a game.

7-4 Ducks after four innings. Jack Brooks walked, as did Ryan Cooney. Then Dominic Hellman nails a short RF shot to score Brooks from second. Gabe Miranda slips one through the infield to score Brooks.

Cal Scolari gives up two straight hits, and with no outs...this looked ominous. But he hunkered down and struck out three-straight-batters!

9-4 Ducks after five innings. Drew Smith knocks one up the middle for a hit, and was later advanced to second on a pitch-clock violation. The freshman phenom Angel Laya comes up and hits a two-run home run over the RF wall again!

Cal Scolari left them scoreless, as his fastball is a little off today, but his drop-curve has been super. He has 82 pitches after five innings...so I don't know if we will see him in the sixth.

12-4 Ducks after six innings, as Dominic Hellman blasted a homer into the Purdue Bullpen...and then Drew Smith cratered one over the Boilermaker Bullpen in left field! Angel Laya singles past the SS, and then Burke-Lee Mabeus zips one to the RF corner for a double and scores Laya from first with his jets. Whew!

Michael Meckna came in to relieve Cal Scolari, and he creates fly-balls and grounders for three easy outs.

12-4 Ducks after seven innings. Luke Morgan came in to pitch an out, and was replaced by Miles Gosztola, who finished the side. When you're up eight...it is good to get some pitchers some work in this weekend, and allow those relievers who melted down last weekend the chance to get their confidence back.

Ducks win 15-4 on the run-rule after eight innings.

Drew Smith beats an infield dribble to first base, and Angel Laya hits to the vacated hole in the opposite field shift. Burke-Lee Mabeus sac-flies to move Smith to third. Elijah Cook comes in to get a hit through the left infield and scores Smith. Ryan Cooney then hits to the left field corner to score two!

Miles Gosztola pitched an out, and a walk before Devin Bell came in and finished the inning generating a double play. Run-Rule!

It is amazing how a pitcher can just "not-be-on" with a given day. Purdue went through nine pitchers today, as their starter was off his control, and their really good first reliever was having an off-day as well.

So..it happens to other teams too!

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2026

BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball

Ducks Clinch Series Behind Potent Offensive Attack

 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Angel Laya, Drew Smith and Dominic Hellman combined for 11 hits and nine RBI to lead Oregon to a 15-4 series-clinching win over Purdue at Alexander Field on Sunday.

 

Laya, a true freshman, belted a pair of home runs for the second time this season while going 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored. Smith and Hellman also homered with Smith reaching base five times (4-for-4, BB), scoring four times and driving in a pair of runs. Hellman went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI, two runs scored and a walk, finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

 

Cal Scolari (3-0) picked up the win while finishing with eight strikeouts in five innings of work.

 

How It Happened: After not scoring until the eighth inning on Saturday, Oregon got on the board early on Sunday, scoring in the top of the second. Jack Brooks, who had a pair of RBI on Friday, delivered a two-out RBI base hit to score Maddox Molony for a 1-0 lead.

 

Oregon (12-3, 2-1 B1G) tacked on four runs in the top of the third behind four hits that included a double and a home run. Jax Gimenez led off the inning with a hard-hit single to left before coming around to score from first on a Hellman double inside the third-base bag.

 

Smith added to the lead with a two-out base hit in the third to score Hellman from third. Laya followed with a two-run homer into the Ducks’ bullpen beyond the right-field fence.

 

Purdue (9-5, 1-2 B1G) answered with four runs in its half of the inning. After one out free passes on a walk and hit-by-pitch, Aaron Manias fisted one over Smith’s head at third for the Boilermakers first run. Sam Flores followed with an inside-the-park home run scoring three. Flores was able to come all the way around to score after Brooks slammed into the wall hard and stayed on the ground while the runners circled the bags.

Angel Laya

Oregon came back and added to the lead in the fourth, scoring two more. Back-to-back walks to Brooks and Ryan Cooney set up Hellman for another big at bat. The Ducks designated hitter laced a ball into right-center field to score Brooks. Gabe Miranda followed with a base hit up the middle to plate Cooney for a 7-4 lead.

 

Oregon pushed the lead to five in the top of the fifth. Laya homered again driving in Smith who led off the inning with a base hit.

 

Oregon added three more in the top of the sixth. Hellman and Smith both hit solo home runs to left field, before Burke-Lee Mabeus doubled, scoring Laya from first.

 

Back-to-back singles to open the eighth by Smith and Laya set the table for another three-run inning. Elijah Cook, who entered the game as a pinch runner in the fifth, singled through the right side to score Smith and move Laya to third. Ryan Cooney then doubled into the left-field corner plating Laya and Cook for Oregon’s final runs.

 

Box Score Notes: Oregon moved to 3-0 in weekend series wins this season and now has won 10 consecutive series dating back to April 4-6, 2025 … The Ducks finished with 20 hits, the most since they had 21 on March 6, 2024, vs. Grand Canyon … Oregon homered four times in a game for the third time this season … Laya’s two homers marked the second time this season he has hit a pair of home runs in a game … Hellman extended his reached base streak to 15 with a first inning base on balls, while Smith extended his streak to 15 with a second-inning walk.

 

On Deck: Oregon opens a two-game series against Xavier on Tuesday. First pitch is at 3:05 p.m PST.

Thank you Charles

I really enjoy your play by play analysis.

You are a natural!

Brings back memories of Russ Hodges partner Lon Simmons (sans a couple cocktails) describing the Giants in the early sixties.