Oregon defeats Penn State in back-and-forth affair in series opener

The Oregon Ducks (30-11, 13-6 Big Ten) had to battle back-and-forth with the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-27, 5-14 Big Ten) all night long, but the Ducks managed to come through with a pair of late scores to steal a 5-4 victory in the series opener. Missed opportunities were the name of the game for the Ducks, hitting just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base. Oregon had bases loaded with less than two outs on two separate occasions but weren’t able to push a run across.

Fortunately, with the bases loaded and only one out in the eighth, the Ducks caught a break when a Penn State error pulled the catcher's foot just off home plate as Jack Brooks dashed across to score the eventual winning run. Penn State was able to strike first in the third inning thanks to a miscue by the Ducks’ defense. After Preston Yaucher hit a leadoff double, Jayden Davis hit a ground ball to second base.

What should have been an easy first out turned into a run as Brayden Jaksa dropped the ball at first base. Oregon responded quickly in the fourth inning. Burke-Lee Mabeus took the Nittany Lions deep to left field for a two-run homer to take the lead.

Mabeus took advantage of a mistake up in the zone and flipped it out the other way for his fifth homer of the season. That snapped a power drought for the Ducks’ backstop, homering for the first time since March 11. After the Nittany Lions briefly tied the game, the Ducks rallied again in the fifth.