The victory was in sight for the Oregon Ducks after rallying to take the lead in the seventh inning. Unfortunately, the Texas Longhorns were too much to handle late in the game, as they won 6-5 to advance to Omaha, ending the Ducks’ season.
Oregon was clinging to the lead in the eighth with two outs, but Texas’ Adrian Rodriguez hit a two-run double off Ducks’ closer Devin Bell to give the Longhorns the lead. The Ducks couldn’t overcome another deficit and the season came to an end in Austin.
Will Sanford came out pump strikes like the Ducks hoped, but Texas took advantage of some pitches that caught too much of the plate. Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney hit back-to-back home runs before the Longhorns recorded an out. Texas added another two runs in the second inning, thanks to three wild pitches by Sanford.
The Ducks didn’t go quietly, however. Trailing 4-0, Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hit a weak infield single to drive in a run in the second inning. Drew Smith hit his second double of the night in the third to drive in a run, and Brayden Jaksa followed with an RBI knock of his own to bring the Ducks within a run.
Sanford battled to make it through 3 â innings, allowing four runs with five walks and seven strikeouts. Tanner Bradley got the Ducks out of a big jam in the fourth and tossed 3 â scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five.
After tying the game in the fifth, Ryan Cooney helped the Ducks take the lead in the seventh with a leadoff double. He came around to score on an RBI groundout by Jaksa.
The lead didn’t last long. Toby Twist and Bell had trouble in the eighth, and Rodriguez slashed a double down the left field line to give the Longhorns a 6-5 edge.
Missed opportunities plagued the Ducks again, hitting just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven runners on base. The Ducks also issued 11 more free passes on the mound and threw four wild pitches, which proved costly.
Re-live Oregon’s season-ending loss to Texas with the live inning-by-inning updates below.
FINAL: Texas 6, Oregon 5
Gimenez grounds out, and both Laya and Cooney go down swinging to end the game. Texas advances to Omaha, and the Ducks come up short in the Super Regionals again.
Texas 6, Oregon 5 (Mid 9th)
Clean inning for Bell, as the Longhorns go down in order. This is it for the Ducks. Top of the order due against Cozart, needing one run to keep the season alive.
Texas 6, Oregon 5 (End 8th)
Texas’ freshman closer Sam Cozart entered and pounded the zone. He struck out two and got a ground ball to end the inning and retire the side in order. Oregon needs to keep the scoreboard clean in the ninth to have a chance.
Texas 6, Oregon 5 (Mid 8th)
Bell issued a walk to Mendoza, loading the bases again. He got Larson to fly out to end the inning, but the damage is done. Oregon has two more cracks at it to retake the lead with the Texas closer coming in.
Texas 6, Oregon 5 (Top 8th)
Bell hit Pack on the foot, moving the tying run into scoring position and putting the go-ahead run aboard. After an infield single loaded the bases, Adrian Rodriguez slashed a double the other way to score two and retake the lead for Texas.
Oregon Pitching Change
Toby Twist came in for the Ducks and quickly got a pair of ground ball outs. He walked Tinney, and with Anthony Pack Jr. coming up, the Ducks are making the early call to closer Devin Bell.
Oregon 5, Texas 4 (End 7th)
Burns gets Smith to strike out, but Jaksa grounds out and brings Cooney home, and the Ducks lead for the first time tonight and in this series.
Texas Pitching Change
Brody Walls came out of the Texas bullpen next, and Cooney promptly greeted him with a leadoff double off the bottom of the wall. After he advanced to third on a wild pitch, the Longhorns decided to make another move to the bullpen. Thomas Burns will enter with a runner on third and no outs with a 1-2 count against Smith.
Texas 4, Oregon 4 (Mid 7th)
A base hit and a wild pitch, the 12th of the series for the Ducks so far, put the Longhorns in position to retake the lead. The situation only became more dire when Bradley made an errant pickoff throw to second base, allowing the go-ahead run to scamper to third. Thankfully, Bradley got an infield pop-up to end the inning unscathed.
Texas 4, Oregon 4 (End 6th)
Walker catches a liner back to the mound from Laya and ends the inning. Still tied heading to the late innings.
Texas Pitching Change
Riojas has emptied the tank. The Texas starter picked up his seventh strikeout of the day, but he hit Gimenez with his 111th pitch of the evening. With two outs in the inning, that’s all for Riojas. Left-hander Ethan Walker will enter to try and finish the inning.
Texas 4, Oregon 4 (Mid 6th)
Quick inning for Bradley. He tallied a pair of strikeouts and got a ground ball to end the inning. Perfect time for a quick and quiet inning.
Texas 4, Oregon 4 (End 5th)
A couple of hits and a walk helped the Ducks load the bases with one out, presenting the best scoring opportunity of the night. Mabeus grounded out to bring home Angel Laya to tie the game, and the Ducks have finally clawed back to even after a rough start.
Texas 4, Oregon 3 (Mid 5th)
Texas was gifted another two-out rally for free, as Bradley issued a walk and hit a batter. Bradley escaped the jam by getting a ground ball back to the mound to end the inning. The Ducks have done a much better job tonight on the mound in sticky situations than they did last night.
Texas 4, Oregon 3 (End 4th)
Brooks worked a two-out walk, but that was all the Ducks could get. Riojas picked up a strikeout and got some easy contact to end the frame.
Texas 4, Oregon 3 (Mid 4th)
Bradley entered and immediately found himself in a 3-0 count. However, he battled back and struck out Becerra to end the inning. A huge moment in the game for the Ducks. Bradley could be asked to toss a couple of innings.
Oregon Pitching Change
The Longhorns crafted a two-out rally with a couple of walks and a base hit to load the bases against Sanford. Wasikowski doesn’t want to let this get out of hand, and Sanford is a bit wild. Tanner Bradley will enter with the bases juiced and two outs.
Texas 4, Oregon 3 (End 3rd)
Brayden Jaksa keeps the rally going by singling through the right side to score Smith. It was a tough start for the Ducks, but they suddenly find themselves within a score.
Texas 4, Oregon 2 (Bottom 3rd)
A controversial review over whether or not Texas’ Temo Becerra kept his foot on second base for the second out of the inning went in favor of the Longhorns. Smith followed the review with his second double of the night and Ryan Cooney scored from first. A run was erased by the review, but the Ducks inch closer.
Texas 4, Oregon 1 (Mid 3rd)
Jax Gimenez made an incredible catch in foul territory against the wall for the second out in the inning. He stayed down and Mark Wasikowski and the Oregon training staff both went out to check on him, but Gimenez stayed in the game. Sanford struck out a pair and worked around a two-out single to retire the Longhorns.
Texas 4, Oregon 1 (End 2nd)
Maddox Molony worked a walk to put a runner in scoring position, but Riojas struck out Jack Brooks to strand a pair of Ducks on base.
Texas 4, Oregon 1 (Bottom 2nd)
Drew Smith picked up where he left off last night, cranking a double to the gap for Oregon’s first hit of the night. With two outs, Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hits a slow grounder through the right side to score Smith, and the Ducks are on the board.
Texas 4, Oregon 0 (Mid 2nd)
Sanford nearly escaped a jam, but two walks and three wild pitches allowed Texas to score again. Tinney followed with a base hit to left to score another, and the Longhorns have doubled their lead. Sanford bounced back with a strikeout to end the inning, giving him four for the night.
Texas 2, Oregon 0 (End 1st)
A clean inning for the Longhorns. Ruger Riojas strikes out Jax Gimenez and gets a pair of ground balls to retire the Ducks in order.
Texas 2, Oregon 0 (Mid 1st)
After the pair of homers, Sanford settled in and struck out two Longhorns. The inning ended on a strikeout, and Burke-Lee Mabeus caught a stealing baserunner by a mile at second base. Time to see if the Oregon bats have a response.
Texas 2, Oregon 0 (Top 1st)
Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney take Will Sanford deep to start the game with back-to-back homers. A couple of mistake pitches by Sanford, and the Longhorns are all over it.
Starting Lineups
Oregon Ducks:
LF Jax GimenezRF Angel Laya2B Ryan Cooney3B Drew Smith1B Brayden JaksaC Burke-Lee MabeusDH Naulivou Lauaki Jr.SS Maddox MolonyCF Jack Brooks
Texas Longhorns:
RF Aiden RobbinsC Carson TinneyLF Anthony Pack Jr.2B Temo BecerraSS Adrian RodriguezDH Ethan Mendoza1B Ashton Larson3B Casey BorbaCF Dariyan Pendergrass
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon’s season ends with loss to Texas in Super Regional
Reporting by Logan Brown, Ducks Wire / Ducks Wire
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