Oregon rides extra-base hits past Northwestern State

EUGENE, Oregon – On a chilly afternoon, the Northwestern State baseball team ran into a red-hot Oregon offense.

The Ducks connected on six home runs – three in a six-run third inning – and collected 10 extra-base hits as they cruised to a 16-1 win against the visiting Demons in the opener of a four-game series at PK Park.

“They obviously swung the bats really well,” seventh-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “Cal (Carver) left a few balls up, and when you play good teams, they make you pay with doubles and homers. That’s what they did. We had a bad day. We need to shake back, because we’ve got three games in the next two days. There’s still a lot of baseball to play this weekend.”

After threatening in each of the first two innings, the Demons (13-8) broke through in the third, taking a 1-0 lead on Daunte Stuart’s sacrifice fly that scored Jeffrey Elkins, who doubled to start the inning before taking third on a wild pitch.

That was the lone run the Demons (13-8) managed against Oregon starter Jace Stoffal (2-2) and a trio of relievers.

Stoffal survived a two-out NSU rally in the first inning, stranding two runners, and worked around Gabe Colaianni’s leadoff double in the second to keep the game scoreless.

The Demons stranded six runners in the first four innings against Stoffal.

“We had some good at-bats early,” Barbier said. “He’s a Friday night starter in the Pac-12. We didn’t punch out much, especially when the game was competitive.”

After the Demons scored their run in the third, Gavin Grant tied the game with a one-out, solo homer off Carver (3-2) in the bottom of the third, setting off a six-run frame in which the Ducks (12-8) homered three times, including the first of two Sabin Ceballos three-run home runs in the game.

Carver struck out six in four innings, allowing seven runs (all earned).

Oregon’s six-run third started a run of four straight innings in which the Ducks scored, including three multi-run frames.

Reliever Tyler Bryan stemmed the tide with a scoreless seventh before Dominic Hellman’s three-run home run in the eighth capped the scoring.

Michael Dattalo and Gabe Colaianni each had two hits for the Demons, who stranded 12 runners in the game.

The series continues Saturday with a 2:05 p.m. CDT doubleheader. Northwestern State will send Alex Makarewich (2-0, 2.77) to the mound against Oregon right-hander Logan Mercado (1-0. 6.05). NSU has not announced a starter for Game 2 while the Ducks will start Leo Uelman (1-2, 6.65).

Oregon 16, Northwestern State 1
NSU 001 000 000 – 1 7 1
UO 006 124 03x – 16 14 0
W – Jace Stoffal (2-2). L – Cal Carver (3-2). 2B – NSU, Jeffrey Elkins, Gabe Colaianni. UO, Colby Shade, Tanner Smith, Josiah Cromwick. 3B – UO, Gavin Grant. HR – UO, Sabin Ceballos 2 (5), Tanner Smith (3), Jacob Walsh (4), Dominic Hellman (1), Grant (5). Highlights: NSU, Michael Dattalo 2-5; Colaianni 2-3, 2B. UO, Ceballos 2-3, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs; Smith 3-4, HR, RBI; Grant 3-3, 3B, HR, RBI.
Records: Northwestern State 13-8; Oregon 12-7.