Oregon Ducks Freshmen Lead Program to Critical Win Over USC

After the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (37-15, 19-10 Big Ten) suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat in 11 innings on Thursday night, they returned to PK Park for their penultimate regular-season game against the No. 17 USC Trojans (42-13, 20-9 Big Ten).

The Ducks exploded for four runs in the fourth inning to take the 4-3 victory, with a pair of freshmen hitting back-to-back homers. Pitcher Will Sanford earned the win after six successful innings, and Devin Bell closed the game to hold onto the lead.

The Trojans and the Ducks are set to play again on Saturday for the series. The game will also provide major implications for Oregon's Big Ten Tournament seeding, with a win almost guaranteeing a top-four seed and a spot in the elimination games.

Below is a rundown of the game. The latest updates are at the top.

oregon ducks baseball mark wasikowski pk park ncaa tournament regional eugene usc trojans big ten tournament naulivou — Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski joins his team after defeating Toledo at PK Park in Eugene Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

FINAL: OREGON 4 – USC 3

TOP OF THE NINTH: OREGON 4 – USC 3

- Bell seals the game. Takeuchi strikes out swinging on the 1-2 pitch.

- Diego Velazquez pinch hits for Urbon. He strikes out swinging on the 2-2 pitch. The game lies at the top of the Trojans’ lineup in the hands of Takeuchi.

- Carpentier grounds out to third base to put the Ducks within two outs of the win.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH: OREGON 4 – USC 3

- Lauridsen gets the 1-2-3 inning by striking out Lauaki swinging.

- Jaksa flies out to right field on the first pitch.

- Smith flies out to left field to lead out the eighth for Oregon.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH: OREGON 4 – USC 3

- Lamb strikes out swinging on the 2-2 count, and Bell limits the damage to one run.

- Cadena scores with Martinez reaching first on the fielder’s choice and Basseer advancing to third. Lopez is out at second, and the Ducks just barely miss on the double play to first.

- Bell hits Lopez with the pitch on his first delivery. The bases are loaded again for USC with one out.

- Devin Bell (1.2IP, 3K, HBP) replaces Barkoff (0.1, 2BB) with the tying run on first base.

- Basseer walks on the full count and advances Cadena to second.

- Lopez fouls out to first base.

- Barkoff walks Cadena as his first batter faced.

- Jonah Barkoff relieves Morgan (0.1IP) on the mound.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- Lauridsen gets the 1-2-3 frame and strikes out Laya.

- Cooney flies out to center field for the second out.

- Gabe Miranda pinch hits for Schleichardt. Miranda flies out to right field.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- The Ducks escape the jam. Takeuchi pops up to second base and the Trojans leave the bases loaded.

- The Ducks make another change. Luke Morgan enters in relief of Clarke (0.2IP, 2H, 1BB, 2K).

- Clarke recovers from the 2-0 count with the bases loaded by striking out Urbon swinging.

- Carpentier walks on the full count and loads the bases with one out.

- Lamb singles to first base on the full count delivery and advances Martinez to second.

- Martinez singles to center field and gives the Trojans their fourth hit of the day and their first since the second inning.

- Clarke starts his time on the mound by striking out Lopez on a full count.

- Sanford’s night ends (6.0IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 7K ) with Collin Clarke entering the mound.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- Brooks strikes out swinging on a full count.

- Mabeus steals second. Molony grounds out to short stop.

- Mabeus reaches first with a full count walk.

- Lauaki grounds out to short stop to lead off the sixth for Oregon.

TOP OF THE SIXTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- Brooks leaps by the wall to rob Basseer of a homer and get the third out.

- A busy inning a center field continues, with Lopez flying out.

- Cadena flies out to center field.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- Smith and Laya advance to second and third on a wild pitch, but Jaksa grounds out to shortstop to end the inning.

- USC makes a pitching change. Gavin Lauridsen enters in relief of Grant Govel (4.2 IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 5K).

- Laya advances to second on the wild pitch. Smith walks on the full count.

- Laya singles through the right side to avoid the 1-2-3 inning.

- Cooney strikes out swinging on the full count.

- Josh Schleichardt bats for the first time and strikes out swinging.

TOP OF THE FIFTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- Oregon hangs onto its lead with Takeuchi flying out to right field. Sanford has retired 10 in a row.

- Urbon makes it back-to-back outs to start the inning by grounding out to third base.

- Sanford strikes out Carpentier swinging.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH: OREGON 4 – USC 2

- The four-run inning comes to a close with a Brooks ground out to second base.

- Molony keeps the bats hot and singles to left field.

- Mabeus grounds out to third base for the second out.

- Make it two freshman home runs in a row for Oregon. Lauaki homers to center field, and the Ducks move to a two-run lead.

B4 | Jaksa's 3RBI HR brings in runs from Cooney and Smith. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/pv59ZOSKPJ
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) May 16, 2026

- Jaksa lifts it over the left field wall for the home run, and the freshman gets three RBI to put the Ducks up for the first time in the series.

- Smith walks at puts runners on the corners.

- Laya grounds out to first base, but Cooney advances to third.

- A wild throw goes past first base, and Cooney reaches and advances to second on a throwing error.

TOP OF THE FOURTH: OREGON 0 - USC 2

- Sanford strikes out Lamb for his sixth and another 1-2-3 inning.

- Sanford gets his sixth straight out as Martinez grounds out to third.

- Lopez leads off the inning with a ground out to second.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD: OREGON 0 – USC 2

- Dominic Hellman pinch hits for Gimenez at the bottom of the lineup. Hellman grounds out to second base and Govel begins the game by sending the Oregon lineup down in order.

- Brooks strikes out looking.

- Molony pops up to short stop. Seven in a row retired by Govel.

TOP OF THE THIRD: OREGON 0 – USC 2

- Sanford earns his fifth strike out against Basseer.

- Gimenez flashes leather at left field as Lopez flies out.

- Sanford recovers from a rocky second inning by striking out Cadena swinging. Sanford’s already up to four strikeouts.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND: OREGON 0 – USC 2

- Mabeus grounds out to Govel. The Trojans have retired six batters in a row.

- Lauaki strikes out swinging after hitting the solo homer on Thursday.

- Jaksa grounds out to short stop. The Ducks remain without a hit in the game.

TOP OF THE SECOND: OREGON 0 - USC 2

- Sanford prevents the inning from becoming more detrimental to the Ducks’ hopes by getting Takeuchi to ground out to third base. Two runners are stranded in scoring position.

- Urbon and Carpentier advance to second and third on a wild pitch.

- Urbon steps up to the plate and drops it in the perfect spot at center field for the RBI. Lamb scores, and Carpentier advances to second. The Trojans take their largest lead of the series.

- Carpentier singles through the left side on the full count and advances Lamb.

- Sanford walks Lamb on the full count to put one on.

- Martinez ground out to second base.

- The Ducks get out Lopez at first, but Basseer comes home to score off the RBI.

- Basseer leads off the second with a triple to left center after Gimenez is unable to get under it.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST: OREGON 0 – USC 0

- Nobody reaches base for either team in the first inning after Smith strikes out swinging.

- Govel’s sixth pitch ends up flying Laya out to left field.

- Cooney leads things off for the Ducks with a ground out to short stop.

TOP OF THE FIRST: OREGON 0 - USC 0

- Sanford sends the batters down in order with three straight strikeouts.

- After Cadena scored the game-winning run for USC on Thursday, he struck out to start this game.

- Sanford delivers three straight strikes to start the game and strike out Takeuchi swinging.

LINEUPS

Oregon Ducks

Ryan Cooney
Angel Laya
Drew Smith
Brayden Jaksa
Naulivou Lauki
Burke-Lee Mabeus
Maddox Molony
Jack Brooks
Jax Gimenez
Will Sanford

USC Trojans

Kevin Takeuchi
Isaac Cadena
Adrian Lopez
Jack Basseer
Augie Lopez
Maximo Martinez
Andrew Lamb
Dean Carpentier
Walter Urbon
Grant Govel

PREVIEW

USC Trojans Win Extra Inning Thursday Clash

The Ducks and the Trojans faced off in Eugene on Thursday for the first of a three-game series. Naulivou Lauaki Jr. sent it to extra innings with a solo shot to the right side at the bottom of the ninth inning, but the scoring stopped there for Oregon.

The Ducks went without a run in the first eight innings and could never pull ahead of the Trojans. USC took an early lead at the top of the second inning off a sac bunt to third base. The Trojans ended up winning what developed into a pitching duel by holding Oregon to just the one run.

Mason Edwards pitched six innings for USC and struck out 12, while Cal Scolari pitched five innings for Oregon, giving up just four hits and striking out five.

A solo shot to right field by USC’s Isaac Cadena put the visiting side up at the top of the eleventh. The Ducks fought to walk off the game, even loading the bases, but a Maddox Malony backwards K and a fly out sealed the win for USC.

The Stakes High for the Oregon Ducks

The series vs. the Trojans is critical to the Ducks’ postseason hopes. Not only is it important for the Big Ten seeding, but with it being a top-20 matchup, there are major implications when it comes to the opportunity to host an NCAA Tournament Regional.

Oregon entered the first game of the series coming off another heartbreaker against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles. The Ducks secured the 9-6 victory in the second game of the series against the Bruins, but couldn’t win the series on Sunday and fell 9-6.

Oregon has picked up wins over ranked teams like the Bruins, the Oregon State Beavers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers this season, but they haven’t dominated. The final two games of the regular season provide the opportunity to come away with a series win over a top opponent.

If the Ducks do end up winning the next two and earning a direct path into the single-elimination part of the Big Ten Tournament, they could be poised to host their second consecutive NCAA Regional at PK Park.

Given that the Ducks lost the first game of the series, their path to the Big Ten Tournament isn’t as straightforward, with a sweep now out of the question. If Oregon can win the next two and the series, it would still qualify for a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament and get to the single-elimination bracket.

The Ducks will also have to close out the series without their head coach. Mark Wasikowski won’t be in Eugene for Saturday’s series finale, according to the Portland Tribune’s Isaac Streeter, with assistant Jack Marder acting as head coach.

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