Baseball is a funny game, and that seems to be particularly the case early in the season.
On Friday night, the No. 14 Oregon Ducks beat San Diego State 8-2 in what amounts to one of the more misleading finals around the country on Opening Day.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning, an advantage that wasn’t threatened until late, the Ducks squandered the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning behind two walks and an error in the field.
Desperate for a run in the top of the ninth with one out, Oregon regained the lead when freshman Travis Moniot hit a deep sacrifice fly to right-centerfield, allowing Steven Packard to score all the way from second base.
The wild, unexpected play jump-started the Ducks offense, as they produced six runs in the final frame to win 8-2.
Here’s a look at the grades for the season opener:
LHP Cole Irvin: A+
After posting a 12-3 record with a 2.48 ERA in the 2013 campaign, Irvin missed the entire 2014 season and spent last year struggling a bit to regain his form (2-5, 4.10 ERA).
However, the 6-foot-3 left-handed ace looked back to his old self Friday night, striking out six of seven batters early in a seven-inning scoreless effort.
Irvin pounded the strikeout, but mixed up his pitches and location enough that San Diego State had fits trying to make contact.
He finished his outing having thrown seven quality innings, allowing six hits, no walks, no runs and nine strikeouts.
It was exactly what George Horton had hoped for from his staff ace.
Oregon baserunning: A
With one out in the ninth inning and a man on second base, freshman Travis Moniot hit a deep sacrifice fly to right-centerfield, causing both outfielders to make a play on the ball. Although it was snagged, minor contact between the two fielders caused some confusion about who had actually caught the ball, which aided Steven Packard’s desperate effort to score from second base.
Packard’s hustle resulted in the game-winning run.
That sounds ridiculous in an 8-2 contest, but had Packard been called out on the play at the plate, Oregon heads to the bottom of the ninth inning tied 2-2 with San Diego State.
Instead, Packard’s hustle helped put the game away.
Other base-running highlights? Oregon scored both of its third-inning runs on infield grounders, while freshman Matt Kroon legged out a routine ground ball to shortstop in his first career college at-bat.
Oregon bullpen: C+
Freshman Isaiah Carranza entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 2-0 lead against an offense that had been shut down all night.
He faced four batters, walking two and allowing another baserunner to reach after a Moniot error.
Closer Stephen Nogosek entered with one out and surrendered the lead by allowing a sacrifice fly and a slow-rolling RBI single.
However, after a six-run ninth inning, Nogosek earned the victory.
Reliever Cooper Stiles closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two.
SS Travis Moniot: B
How would the highly-touted freshman shortstop perform in his first college baseball game? That was one of the many questions on coming into Friday’s action.
Pretty well, actually.
Moniot hit a double in his first career college at-bat, which was a good sign for the Oregon batting lineup.
However, defense is key for a shortstop, and Moniot’s eighth-inning error should have been a surefire out at second base. Instead, it began an Aztecs rally that tied the game.
Responding to his own mistake, Moniot hit the game-deciding RBI sacrifice fly.
All in all, it was a positive first step for the Duckling.
Oregon offense: C-
Had it not been for a once-a-season score on a sac. fly from second base, Oregon would’ve gone to extra innings (at best) having only produced two runs on RBI groundouts.
Sure, San Diego State left-handed starter Marcus Reyes provided a unique look as a Southpaw who was throwing pitches at a rate of about one every nine seconds, according to the Mountain West broadcast, but the Ducks looked punchless for much of the game.
Credit to Oregon for capitalizing late, and it’s early in the season, but the Ducks (once again) didn’t look like a lineup full of heavy hitters.
Sneaky play award: Austin Greback’s third-inning RBI groundout
With runners on the corners in the third inning, leadoff hitter Austin Grebeck went down in the count 0-2.
He rallied for an 11-pitch at-bat that resulted in an RBI groundout and a runner on second base.
It was a key at-bat that went largely unnoticed due to the late-game craziness.
— Andrew Nemec
anemec@oregonian.com
@AndrewNemec
