EUGENE, Ore. – The Utah baseball team opened a three-game series against Oregon with a 6-2 loss on Friday evening.
Utah took a 1-0 lead in the third inning before Oregon scored three runs in the fourth to take a lead it would not relinquish.
Utah was led at the plate by
Oliver Dunn and
Dominic Foscalina, who each had two hits on the night. Dunn and
Shea Kramer each had an RBI.
Tanner Thomas pitched five innings, striking out six while allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks. He falls to 3-4 on the year with the loss.
Jacob Rebar allowed two runs on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk over the final three innings.
Both teams left two runners on base in the second inning before the Utes got on the board in the third.
DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored on Dunn's triple to right center to give Utah a 1-0 lead.
Oregon took the lead with a three-run fourth inning, which included a two-run home run.
The Utes got out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth, forcing Oregon into leaving the bases loaded. The Ducks scored an insurance run with the help of two hits and an error in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-1 lead.
Utah got a run back in the top of the eighth inning as
Wade Gulden scored on Kramer's RBI single following a leadoff walk, but the Ducks pulled back ahead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run for a 6-2 lead.
The Utes committed two errors and both teams struggled with timely hitting, as Utah left 11 on base and Oregon stranded 12.
Utah and Oregon play the second game of the series on Saturday, May 12, at 2:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. MT.