Mathew Grabmann gave Oregon by far its best Sunday start of Pac-12 play and arguably the entire season and the Ducks bullpen came through for a series-clinching win over Cal.
Grabmann allowed a run on four hits and a hit batter with three strikeouts over 4.0 innings, his first appearance of the season without allowing a walk. Turner Spoljaric allowed a run on three hits in 2.0 innings and was credited with the win and he combined Austin Anderson, Matt Dallas and Josh Mollerus combined to allow two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in a 9-3 win for No. 23 Oregon Sunday afternoon at Evans Diamond.
Errors allowed Oregon (26-12, 11-7 Pac-12) to score in the first and fourth, when Bennett Thompson also had a two-run double as UO took a 4-0 lead.
Grabmann allowed two-out singles in the first and third, hitting a batter in the first, but got through those frames unscathed.
Kade Kretzschmar hit a leadoff triple in the fourth and scored on a wild pitch to put Cal (18-18, 6-15) on the board, but that was all the Golden Bears could score off Grabmann.
Colby Shade scored on an RBI ground ball in the fifth to make it 5-1 and Spoljaric allowed a pair of two-out singles in the sixth that got Cal within three.
The Ducks erupted for four in the ninth. Rikuu Nishida led off the frame with a home run, then Shade, Drew Cowley and Tanner Smith each singled, the latter two driving in runs, and Jacob Walsh added an RBI double.
Mollerus gave up a leadoff homer to Caleb Lomavita but got the next three in order to close out the win.
Oregon returns home to host a two-game series with Gonzaga starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday before a three-game series with Arizona State.
