Ducks Rise in Polls Following Sweep of Utes

Oregon takes over first place with Arizona right on its heels.

Author:
Max Torres
Publish date:
May 17, 2021 7:15 PM EDT

Oregon is playing some phenomenal baseball as the regular season winds down.

Sunday marked the sixth straight for Mark Wasikowski's squad in a 9-2 dismantling of Utah on the road. Brett Walker was on the hill for the Ducks, and he had a dominant outing, allowing just a single run and two hits in six innings of work.

Walker fanned four batters en route to picking up the win, bringing his record to 6-2. He followed up by Nico Tellache and Caleb Sloan out of the pen to put the finishing touches on the game.

The Ducks' bats were quiet to start, but came alive for two runs in the fourth inning before exploding for five runs in the fifth. Kenyon Yovan drove in two runs on four at-bats to cap off a strong series in Ogden, going 8-for-14 (.571 avg) and driving in four runs and scoring six himself in the three game series.

Outfielder Aaron Zavala drove in a pair of runs as well on his only hit in five at-bats Sunday, a double that followed up Yovan's double just before him.

David Watson got the starting nod for the Utes, but couldn't find his groove. He lasted four innings and surrendered three earned runs on five hits, hitting two batters and walking another two. The loss would drop his record to 2-7 on the year.

Rykker Tom gave the Utes their first run on a sacrifice bunt in the third inning, and the offense would remain quiet until a Kayler Yates single to left field brought home another run in the bottom of the seventh.

The win extends Oregon's win streak to six, and the Utes (14-29, 5-19) are the second consecutive sweep for the Ducks in two series after dominating Washington in Eugene earlier this month.

The Ducks move to (33-11, 17-7) on the year, and their recent run has them gaining more respect nationally, with a variety of polls placing them inside the top 10.

As of Sunday night the Ducks hold a slim lead in first place ahead of the Arizona Wildcats (35-13, 19-8).

Next up is a home series against the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference. The Ducks were originally scheduled to play in Spokane on May 3 and in Eugene on May 11 and 12, but those games were cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Bulldogs' program.

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