Diamond Ducks Blow 6-Run Lead, Lose Game 3 in 10 Innings 8-7

[ICamel]

Game time = Noon = First pitch ~12:05

 

PK Park

 

Game is streamed live. Click on hyperlink Live Stream of Game and scroll down to April 24. The live stream link will be on the right of your screen titled "Watch".

 

Radio on the Oregon Sports Network.

 

Or attend in person! Tickets range from $7 for General Admission - $10 for Reserved Seats

 

GO DUCKS! And stop giving up the homerun

[Guest Axel]

After I lamented last night’s 10-8 loss to Washington State, Sir Charles smartly stated, “Keep in mind that the Cougars took a game off of Oregon State as well.”

 

While it is true that Oregon State also lost a game (9-8) to the lowly, lowly Cougars, it was a road loss on Sunday—getaway day—after the Beavers had won the first two games of the series, 13-3 and 5-1, with solid pitching.

 

And yes, even though the Ducks lost to those mangy mountain felines yesterday, I’m still chafed about it, and the Cougars are still “lowly, lowly” with their 6-14 Pac-12 record. Chafe me enough and I’ll throw a third “lowly” in there.

 

The Ducks, as we know, needed a miracle on the order of the Red Sea parting to win the first game of the series, and we’re all on pin cushions and protruding needles as we await what ghastly results might await us from the pitcher's mound today.

 

Our Ducks pitching staff is leaking oil, and I know that’s a bad metaphor, so how about we say that our guys could use a tune-up, a new engine gasket, and why not throw in an air filter while you’re at it.

 

Ducks hurlers have given up 40 home runs to date--ouch--more than twice as many as Oregon State, which has allowed just 19 gopher balls, second best among the 11 teams with a Pac-12 baseball program. (Colorado does not currently play baseball, as they are too busy being incompetent with football.)

 

Even more ominous is the Ducks’ team WHIP of 1.519, which is the ninth highest in the Pac-12.

 

WHIP stands for “walks plus hits per inning pitched,” and it is arguably a better indicator for pitching proficiency than earned-run average (ERA.) Ducks pitchers allow an average of a man and a half on base every inning. This statistic works well, literally, because degenerate teams like the Huskies and Trojans do have a goodly number of half-wits on their rosters.

 

To be clear, WHIP does not stand for “Washington Has Icky People.” They do, of course, but we want to keep our baseball acronyms far, far away from those depraved morons up there.

 

Another less-than-stellar stat is the Ducks’ strikeout-to-walk ratio (SO/W), which rates in the middle of the Pac-12 at 1.96. The Beavers, and we are getting really, really sick of mentioning their name, have the league’s best SO/W of 4.00.

 

And while we are grateful that Our Beloved Ducks are Fighting Ducks, we do wish they wouldn’t pepper so many opposing batters with baseballs. Ducks pitchers are ninth-highest in the Pac-12 in hit-by-pitch. We do understand how enticing it is to dot every Husky player in the derriere with a blazing fastball, but we’d rather the Ducks just strike out those wretched dogs.

 

Finally, first-place Oregon State plays those worthless wonders from Washington today, and a Beavers loss would enable the Ducks to tie for first place with a win over those lowly, lowly, lowly Cougars. (Yes, I’m very chafed about all of this.)

 

I despise the Beavers for trying to tempt me to root for those horrible, nasty Huskies, on a Sunday, no less. Calm down, everyone. I said, “trying to tempt me.” I wouldn’t root for those miserable, purple-toothed rabies carriers for all the booze and winter wheat in the Palouse.

[ICamel]

Pitching for Oregon today is Isaac Ayon.

 

1st inning;

Pop out to Jacob Walsh in foul territory off first base. Single to left field. Another single to left field. Swinging strikeout. Groundout to second base.

0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

Tanner Smith leads off for the Ducks. Ground ball out to first base. Drew Cowley at bat. Walk for Cowley. Brennan Milone hit a double to left field. B runners in scoring position. Jacob Walsh with an infield single up the middle plates Cowley. Josh Kasevich hit into a double play, second-to short-to first .

1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

WSU 0 - Oregon 1

[30Duck]

Thanks for the WHIP clarification, Axel. It has been only recently that baseballers looked beyond ERA, Batting average to see what was actually happening, and of course it never should be RBI's!

[Pennsylvania Duck]

Axel - Your writing is legendary! I love reading your comments. Besides being comical, I find myself learning a lot.

 

ICamel - I really appreciate your game write-ups. I don't get PAC12 Network, so you're my lifeline to the baseball news!

[ICamel]

2nd inning;

Long ball flyout to right field. Groundout to shortstop. Flyout to right field.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Anthony Hall leading off for our Ducks. Hall draws a walk on a full count. Pitcher hit Colby Shade to put runners at second and first with no outs. The home plate umpire likes to call strikes on the outside of the plate to right hand hitters. Josiah Cromwick with a flyout to center left field. Gavin Grant is the second Duck to be hit by a pitch in the inning. Bases loaded with one out. Tanner Smith with an opportunity to score more runs. And Tanner is hit by another pitch to score Anthony Hall. Bases still loaded with one out for Drew Cowley. And Cowley hit a long ball off the center right wall for a bases clearing triple.

 

 

The starting pitcher for WSU is done for the game. New thrower for Cougs will face Brennan Milone with Drew Cowley at third and still just one out. Milone hit a groundout to shortstop scoring Drew Cowley!  Jacob Walsh keeps the inning going as the Cougs first baseman cannot handle a hard shot directly to him. Josh Kasevich at bat. A wild pitch advances Walsh to second base. Kasevich with a flyout to right field. Oregon has batted around and scored five runs.

 

WSU 0 - Oregon 6 after two innings.

[ICamel]

3rd inning;

Popout caught by Gavin Grant near first base. Groundout to second base. Swinging strikeout by Isaac Ayon ends the top half of the third inning.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

 

Anthony Hall up first for Oregon. Hall is the first out on a slicing fly ball to left field. Colby Shade beat out an infield hopper to shortstop. Shade steals second base to put him in scoring position with one out. Josiah Cromwick with the chance to put up another run for Oregon. Cromwick strikes out swinging. Gavin Grant works an 0-2 count into a free pass to first base on an 8 pitch walk. And WSU goes to the bullpen for their third pitcher in three innings to face Tanner Smith. Tanner will bat with Oregon runners at second and first with two outs. A wild pitch moves Shade and Grant to third and second respectively. Tanner Smith hit a groundball out to the second baseman to end the inning.

0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

WSU 0 - Oregon 6

[ICamel]

4th inning;

Isaac Ayon pitching into the fourth inning. Swinging strikeout. Groundout to third base. Single past a diving Gavin Grant into right field. Flyout to center fielder Colby Shade ends the Cougars fourth.

 

 

0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

Drew Cowley to leadoff for Oregon, and draws a walk. Brennan Milone flied out to center field for the first out. Jacob Walsh caught looking at a called third strike for out number two. Josh Kasevich hit a shallow fly ball that is caught by the left fielder for the third out.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

WSU 0 - Oregon 6 after four innings

[ICamel]

5th inning;

Isaac Ayon sails through five innings of work with two groundout balls to third base sandwiched between a swinging strikeout on just ten pitches!

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Anthony Hall flied out to center field. Colby Shade duplicates the flyout to center. Josiah Cromwick strikes out swinging to end the fifth inning.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

WSU 0 - Oregon 6 at the end of five innings

[Guest Axel]

On 4/24/2022 at 12:44 PM, Pennsylvania Duck said:

ICamel - I really appreciate your game write-ups. I don't get PAC12 Network, so you're my lifeline to the baseball news!

ICamel is already a legendary chronicler of the heroic exploits of our Diamond Ducks. He is as reliable as the Huskies are repulsive. He is as accurate as the Trojans are arrogant. He is as believable as Oregon State is Beaverish--you know, like rodents.

 

We all appreciate ICamel's epic reporting and it makes us all wonder: What did Walter Cronkite ever do for our Ducks?

[ICamel]

6th inning;

Coach Wasikowski will ride with starting pitcher Isaac Ayon in the sixth inning. A single into short right field puts the leadoff runner on base. Ayon rings up the next batter on a swinging strikeout. Ground ball past a diving Josh Kasevich into center. Anthony Hall makes the catch of a long flyout to the warning track in right field, with the runner at second advancing. A base hit to left field brings in the first run of the game for WSU. Runners at second and first with two outs. A two out double into the gap in center right brings in two more runs. A one bouncer back to Ayon ends the WSU 6th inning, but they have cut the lead in half.

3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

Ducks need to get back to hitting and answer the WSU rally. Gavin Grant draws a leadoff walk for our Ducks. Tanner Smith drops a single down the right field line to put runners at third and first and nobody out. Drew Cowley with a chance for an RBI or two or three. Cowley with a high popout to centerfield. WSU wants a new pitcher to face the dangerous hitter Brennan Milone who has an RBI double this afternoon. And Brennan almost hit a home run as the hit ball bounces off the left field wall for a long single and his second RBI. The runners had to hold waiting to see if the ball might be caught.

 

 

 

Jacob Walsh hit a groundout to second that advances the runners to third and second base. Josh Kasevich ends Oregon's threat for more runs with a groundout to shortstop.

1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB

 

WSU 3 - Oregon 7

[ICamel]

Rio Britton comes on in relief of Starter Isaac Ayon to start the seventh inning. A ground out is followed by a walk. A flyout to center right yields out number two. And the Cougars are set down on a hopper to Jacob Walsh who steps on first base for the out.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

WSU will bring in their fifth pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Anthony Hall strikes out swinging. Colby shade popped out to second base. And the Ducks go down in order on a ground out to second base by Josiah Cromwick.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Oregon still up 7-3 going to the eighth inning.

[Guest Axel]

Live update from Corvallis

 

(Directions from Eugene: North on I-5 until you smell it, west on U.S. 20 until you step in it.)

 

Bottom of the 6th inning

 

Washington 1, Oregon State 1

 

Official scorer's note: I hope nobody wins

[ICamel]

8th inning;

Bryce Boettcher replaces Anthony Hall in right field, and Jack Scanlon comes in at catcher for Josiah Cromwick.

Leadoff batter hit a first pitch double to the left field corner. A first pitch two run homer to center field comes next. A flyout to left field is the first out for WSU. Britton records the second out on a swinging strike. A long fly ball is caught by Colby Shade in the middle of the warning track in deep center field.

2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Ducks need to get some insurance runs here! Gavin Grant is punched out looking at a called third strike. Tanner Smith hit a ground ball to the first baseman who underhands to the covering pitcher for the second out. An "excuse me" popout to the third baseman by Drew Cowley ends the eighth inning.

0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

WSU 5 - Oregon 7

[ICamel]

9th inning;

To no ones surprise Kolby Somers in to pitch for Oregon. Strikeout swinging brings WSU to their last two outs. A single to right field keeps the Cougs alive. How about a double play? And Somers walks the next batter to put the tying runners on base. A single to center right scores a run and puts runners at the corners with only one out. The batter for WSU is 3 for 4 today with a double, two singles, and a strikeout. A sacrifice fly to center left field ties the game. Kolby gets a swinging strikeout to send the game to the bottom of the ninth tied 7-7.

2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB

 

Ducks will have the middle of their batting order and Brennan Milone grounds out to third base for out number one. Jacob Walsh hits next and puts the ball to deep right for a long out. Josh Kasevich gets on base with a ground ball between third and second. Bryce Boettcher hits next and Kasevich is out trying to steal second base.

0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB

 

Tied at the end of nine innings 7-7

[Guest Axel]

Live update from Corvallis

 

Bottom of the 7th inning

 

Oregon State 3, Washington 1

 

If the Ducks lose today and Oregon State wins, the Ducks will be 2 games out of first place. 

[Guest Axel]

On 4/24/2022 at 3:25 PM, ICamel said:

Tied at the end of nine innings 7-7

I'm not sure if I'm watching a Pac-12 baseball game or a slow-pitch softball game. 

 

The Ducks blew a six-run lead today. This pitching staff isn't just leaking oil, it's blown a gasket. 

[ICamel]

10th inning;

Logan Mercado will pitch for Oregon. A single back up the middle puts the leadoff batter on base. A popup out that Gavin Grant catches near first base for out number one. Mercado hit the Coug batter to put runners at second and first. Andrew Mosiello relieves Mercado. I hesitate to say this but WSU has the momentum in this game, scoring their seven runs in the last four innings after Oregon had a six run lead. And Mosiello walks his first batter faced to load the bases with one out. The second out has been recorded on a swinging strikeout.  And on a 3-2 count Mosiello walks in the go ahead run. A fly ball to shallow center takes us to the bottom of the tenth inning, but the Cougs have taken a one run lead.

1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 3 LOB

 

Ducks will face WSU's closer in the bottom of the tenth inning. Tyler Gannus pinch hits for Bryce Boettcher.  Gannus groundsout to second base. Colby Shade strikes out swinging for the second out. Sam Novitske at the plate, pinch hitting for Jack Scanlon. Novitske flies out to centerfield.

 

WSU 8 - Oregon 7 is the final score.

[30Duck]

On 4/24/2022 at 3:28 PM, Axel said:

This pitching staff isn't just leaking oil, it's blown a gasket. 

An epic come from behind win in the first game kept the Ducks from being swept at home by the frivolous felines from the Palouse. The pitchers are bailing water with sieves. 

[ICamel]

My observation on the pitching by our Ducks. If you are consistently behind in the count to batters, they know you will have to serve up a fat pitch that they can get the bat on, or a walk. Even when the pitcher is ahead in the count, too many times they will dink around and fall behind in the count. They need to aggressively go after the batters!

[EastBayDuckDad]

I didn't think it could get much worse than the game I saw yesterday.  I was wrong.

[1Ducker1]

Looking like a clump of coal. 

[Guest Axel]

Our Diamond Ducks didn’t just lose today—they blew a six-run lead in the seventh inning against one of the worst teams in the Pac-12—the lowly, lowly, lowly, lowly Cougars. (Yes, I am really, extremely chafed.)

 

This was the proverbial example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

It’s like the time I squandered my lunch money on pocketfuls of penny candy, wound up with 11 cavities and had to go kicking and screaming to that psychotic, drill-happy maniac that my mother called a dentist. It didn’t have to happen. It shouldn’t have happened. But it did.

 

However, Duck fans, we are heartened by the fact that there have been even bigger losers throughout time, and so let us cry into our Hefeweizen together as we try to crack a smile while thinking about

 

The Top 10 Losers Worse Than Today’s Diamond Ducks

 

10.  Willie Taggart’s agent

 

  9.  The 0-12 Washington Huskies of 2008

 

  8.  Traveler (Is there anything you hate more than Niedermeyer’s horse? Yes, there is) 

 

  7.  Seattleites (That name doesn’t even make any sense, so how can the people?)

 

  6.  Wille Taggart’s publicist

 

  5.  Anyone who winds up in the Palouse (Next time, don’t make that wrong turn at Yakima)

 

  4.  Willie Taggart

 

  3.  Those sniveling, teary-eyed, nose-drippy Trojan fans still butthurt over Josh Conerly

 

  2.  The 0-12 Washington Huskies of 2008 (I know I said it twice. So sue me)

 

  1.  Any Beaver fan who bought an airplane ticket for Pasadena during the last 56 years