Ducks use the long ball to stun the Huskies late and take Game 1
Oregon's Burke-Lee Mabius turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead with a long three-run homer in the eighth as the Ducks stun Washington late.
It's always nice when the Oregon Ducks defeat Washington in anything, whether it be in football, basketball or even checkers. On this first day of the month of May, it just happens to be in baseball that the Ducks handed the Huskies a big loss on the diamond. Oregon rallied from a 4-2 deficit to take a 6-4 victory in Seattle.
Burke-Lee Mabius provided the big blow for the Ducks in the eighth inning. Oregon was down by that 4-2 score when the Duck catcher came to the plate with two on and two out. He turned on a 1-0 fastball and crushed it to right field for a huge three-run home run to give the visitors a 5-4 lead.
If that wasn't enough, designated hitter Naulivou Lauaki, Jr. took an 0-2 pitch from reliever Tommy Brandenberg and deposited it over the centerfield wall 433 feet from home plate and Oregon led 6-4. That was all Duck reliever Tanner Bradley needed as he threw a scoreless eighth and ninth for his first save of the season.
With the win, the Ducks go to 34-11 overall and 16-6 in Big Ten action. Washington drops to 20-25 overall and 9-13 in conference play. It was all Washington for most of the night as the Huskies had a lead for most of the game.