The Oregon Ducks have their backs against the wall on the heels of an ugly loss to open the Austin Super Regional against the Texas Longhorns.

The Ducks fell 11-3 on Saturday night, despite outhitting the Longhorns. Free passes doomed the Ducks on the mound quickly. Cal Scolari didn’t have his best stuff, walking six and surrendering five runs in just 3 ⅔ innings. As a pitching staff, the Ducks issued eight walks and hit three batters.

Texas had a hard time cashing in with runners on the bases, but Oregon’s wildness on the mound afforded the Longhorns second chances. Texas took a 7-0 lead in the fifth before the Ducks finally got on the board in the sixth with a pair of RBI walks.

Oregon had nine hits, including a Drew Smith home run in the eighth, but the Ducks stranded 17 baserunners. As a team, the Ducks were 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but a category the Ducks must improve in to keep their season alive.

Will Sanford (9-2, 3.46 ERA) will draw the start for the Ducks and look to give the team some length. Sanford struck out a career-high 14 batters in his last outing against Washington State. After Mark Wasikowski used four bullpen arms on Saturday, Sanford will need to get into the middle of the game to keep the Ducks in it.

Texas will roll with Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.86 ERA) with a spot in Omaha on the line. Riojas missed time with an injury recently, but returned for the regional round and tossed five innings against UC Santa Barbara, allowing one run and striking out six. Riojas has given up six home runs this season, including one in each of his last four full outings. Look for the Ducks to take advantage.

The Ducks will serve as the home team for the second game of the series.

Follow along with live inning-by-inning updates as the Ducks aim to keep their season alive against the Longhorns. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, and the game will air live on ESPN.

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 ties game vs. Texas in Super Regional; live updates

Reporting by Logan Brown, Ducks Wire / Ducks Wire

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