June 2, 2012

Box Score / Photo Gallery

Eugene, OR - Kyle Garlick's 2-run triple highlighted a 4-run first inning Saturday night that ignited Oregon to a 7-5 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA Baseball Regional.

The No. 1-seeded Ducks (44-17) advance to a potential championship game at 4 p.m. on Sunday against the survivor of a noon elimination game between Fullerton (36-20) and Austin Peay, which avoided elimination with a 1-0 win over Indiana State earlier Saturday.

Alex Keudell went 7 innings to improve to 11-4 and extend his school season win record. Jimmie Sherfy pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to log his 18th save. Dylan Floro fell to 10-4 after allowing all 7 runs, 6 earned, in 7+ innings. He made two of four Fullerton errors, all coming on throws.

Fullerton scored only in the fifth inning. Michael Lorenzen's 3-run homer capped the 5-run explosion but the Titans never got the tying run into scoring position.

Oregon's Aaron Payne singled to lead things off for Oregon in the first and promptly went to third on an errant pick-off throw from Floro. After a hit batter, Ryon Healy grounded to third to drive home the game's first run. Brett Thomas singled Aaron Jones to third and both runners came home on Garlick's triple to the right-center gap to make it 3-0. . Ryan Hambright's infield single to short brought home Garlick for the fourth run of the inning.

The Ducks tacked on runs in the second and the fourth to make it 6-0 after four. A single and a stolen base by Jones set up an opportunity for Healy, who picked up an RBI with a single to left-center in the second. A one-out walk in the fourth proved costly to Floro and the Titans as J.J. Altobelli came around to score on a Jones sacrifice fly.

Fullerton, which left the bases loaded in the third, finally broke through against Kuedell in the fifth. Leadoff man J.D Davis was hit by a pitch and went to second on Anthony Trajano's base hit. Keudell hit Jared Deacon to load the bases.

Richy Pedroza delivered a base hit that scored the Titans' first run to move all the runners up 90 feet, but Deacon didn't see the stop sign and kept going to third, where Trajano had stopped. He was caugt in a run-down and tagged out while Pedroza moved to second. Ivory Thomas followed with a run scoring ground out to make it 6-2 in favor of the Ducks.

Carlos Lopez drew a four-pitch, two-out walk and came around with Pedroza on Lorenzen's long ball that left the park just inside the right-field foul pole.

After the five-run fifth for Fullerton, Keudell retired the final seven men he faced before handing off to Sherfy.

The Ducks added an unearned run in the eighth.Brett Hambright was safe on an error by Trajano and he ended up at third when Floro fielded Connor Hofmann's sacrifice bunt and threw wildly to first. Willie Kuhl relieved Floro and induced a double play grounder from Altobelli that scored Hambright.