Oregon’s hopes of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid are approaching extinction.
Three relievers combined to allow seven runs and the Ducks committed four errors in a 12-5 loss to last-place Utah Thursday night at Smith’s Ballpark. It snapped a 12-game win streak for UO, which last lost to Utah on April 2, 2017.
It was the fifth straight loss and eighth in nine games for Oregon (31-20, 14-14 Pac-12), which entered the weekend No. 39 in RPI compared to Utah’s 144, making it one of UO’s worst losses of the season.
The Ducks were once again forced to start Logan Mercado in the opening game of a weekend series. He allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter and struck out four over 3.1 innings in a no-decision. He handed things over to Grayson Grinsell, who held the Utes to just one walk over 2.2 scoreless innings to keep the game tied at 5.
Then the bottom fell out.
Utah (22-30-1, 9-18-1) loaded the bases in the seventh after Dylan McShane hit two batters and a throwing error. McShane walked in the go-ahead run and gave up an RBI single before Ian Umlandt took over and Utah added four more runs via a fielder’s choice ground out, single and error.
Drew Smith hit a three-run home run and Drew Cowley hit an RBI double and alter scored on an error for Oregon, which led 5-2 midway through the third.
TJ Clarkson and Jayden Kiernan hit back-to-back homers and Landon Frei tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Bryson Van Sickle allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hit and three walks and struck out 10 over 6.0 innings in a no-decision. Randon Hostert (3-2) allows just two hits and a walk over 1.0 innings to earn the win for Utah, which got scoreless innings from Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and Zac McCleve.
The teams will continue the series at 10 a.m. Friday.
