Oregon defeats Penn State in back-and-forth affair in series opener

The Oregon Ducks (30-11, 13-6 Big Ten) had to battle back-and-forth with the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-27, 5-14 Big Ten) all night long, but the Ducks managed to come through with a pair of late scores to steal a 5-4 victory in the series opener.

>Missed opportunities were the name of the game for the Ducks, hitting just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base. Oregon had bases loaded with less than two outs on two separate occasions but weren’t able to push a run across.

>Fortunately, with the bases loaded and only one out in the eighth, the Ducks caught a break when a Penn State error pulled the catcher's foot just off home plate as Jack Brooks dashed across to score the eventual winning run.

>Penn State was able to strike first in the third inning thanks to a miscue by the Ducks’ defense. After Preston Yaucher hit a leadoff double, Jayden Davis hit a ground ball to second base. What should have been an easy first out turned into a run as Brayden Jaksa dropped the ball at first base.

>Oregon responded quickly in the fourth inning. Burke-Lee Mabeus took the Nittany Lions deep to left field for a two-run homer to take the lead. Mabeus took advantage of a mistake up in the zone and flipped it out the other way for his fifth homer of the season. That snapped a power drought for the Ducks’ backstop, homering for the first time since March 11.

>After the Nittany Lions briefly tied the game, the Ducks rallied again in the fifth. A walk from Jax Gimenez and a base hit from Jaksa set the table for Ryan Cooney, who hit a sacrifice fly to center field to take a 3-2 lead.

>Will Sanford continued to punch tickets for the Ducks on the mound, but he struggled to be efficient again. Although he struck out eight and only issued two walks, Sanford needed 99 pitches to make it through six innings. He surrendered two runs. The Ducks have only lost one of Sanford's 11 starts this season.

>The Ducks pivoted to right-hander Luke Morgan out of the bullpen in the seventh, but he didn’t have his best stuff. After hitting a batter, Penn State’s Bryce Molinaro launched a two-run home run to right field to retake the lead in the late stages.

>The top of the Oregon lineup had to rally again in the bottom of the inning. Jaksa led off the inning with a double, and Angel Laya drew a walk with two outs. Maddox Molony came through in a big spot with an RBI single to the opposite field to knot the score once again.

>Oregon needed some luck to take the lead in the eighth. After a pair of walks loaded the bases, Drew Smith hit a hard ground ball to Penn State third baseman Spencer Barnett, who threw the ball home for the force out. Barnett’s throw was a bit wide, and catcher Joey DeMucci couldn’t keep his foot on the plate as Brooks scored the go-ahead run for the Ducks.

>Tanner Bradley pitched the final two innings of the ballgame for the Ducks and racked up five strikeouts and his fourth win of the campaign.

>With another series-opening victory in their pocket, the Ducks will send workhorse right-hander Collin Clarke (5-3, 3.84 ERA) to the mound on Saturday against Penn State right-hander Ben Hudson (1-8, 8.14 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. PT.

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>This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon rallies, holds off Penn State late for series-opening victory