Ducks Claim First Pac-10 Series
Don Smalley

Oregon's formula for winning for three years now has been good pitching, good defense and timely hitting.

The Ducks used that exact formula Saturday afternoon to capture their first series win of the 2011 Pac-10 season with a 7-3 win over Arizona in front of 2,096 fans at PK Park.

Oregon won the series opener 3-2, but fell 2-1 in Game 2 before winning the rubber game against the Wildcats. Alex Keudell (5-3) earned the win after throwing 5 2/3 innings and giving up just three earned runs on seven hits.

Keudell gave way to Scott McGough, who finished off Arizona, throwing the final 3 1/3, allowing just two hits and striking out four to earn his fourth save of the year.

"I commend my guys. This has been a grind with the nine games in 11 games," Oregon coach George Horton said. "We had a chance to win a series against a solid baseball team and they looked as fresh as if we hadn't played in six or seven days."

Arizona struck first in the opening inning, but Oregon answered with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. Aaron Jones knocked in Danny Pulfer to tie the score and then Ryon Healy drove in Jones.

It wasn't the last time Healy would get a huge hit.

Healy crushed a home run to left-center field to lead off the bottom of the third to give the Ducks a 5-1 lead.  The freshman went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

"It felt good to get a good piece of it," Healy said of his homer. "I think our bats came alive today and Thursday. We have to get more consistent and win more ball games."

Five runs is lot of run support against most teams, but Arizona does lead the conference in batting average and they closed a 6-2 deficit to 6-3 in the sixth, chasing Keudell in the process. McGough struck out Bobby Brown to escape the jam.

Oregon added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly from KC Serna.

"It feels good (to win) because we have battled in the conference," said J.J. Altobelli, who turned in a Gold Glove defensive performance this weekend. "We are getting closer. Our bats are coming around and our pitching has been there the whole year."

The win improved the Ducks record to 21-17 overall and 4-8 in Pac-10 play.

"It's a step forward," Horton said. "Maybe now we can build to get another series. But we know it won't be easy, and maybe get a sweep."

The Ducks will have a few days off before hosting Portland Wednesday before traveling down to Berkeley to take on Cal. Oregon defeated the Pilots 14-3 last Tuesday.

Wildcats Get Even
Don Smalley

That was quick.

Oregon's Madison Boer and Arizona's Kyle Simon dueled for nine innings in just an hour and 52 minutes with the Wildcats coming away with a 2-1 Pac-10 win at PK Park Friday evening.

Simon (7-3) faced just one batter over the minimum after the second inning, allowing only four base runners the entire night, two of which was Danny Pulfer. The 6-4 righty stifled Oregon all night long with his slider and a sinking fastball that Derek Lowe would have been proud of.

Boer was just as good, but a solo homer from Johnny Field in the seventh proved to be the difference. Field, who was hitting over .400 coming in, sent a Boer fastball over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. It may as well have been 12-1.

Despite giving up the homerun, Boer was masterful all night long, pitching a complete game and allowing just six hits to an Arizona team that is leading the Pac-10 in hitting with a team batting average of .327.

Boer was also helped out by several spectacular plays in the field behind him, especially from third baseman J.J. Altobelli, who turned in three straight web gems in the third inning. KC Serna also had a night picking it at shortstop, including running a good 40 yards to shag a fly ball in left that leftfielder Stefan Sabol lost in the sun.

Oregon, which fell to 20-18 and 3-8 in conference, pitched and defended more than well enough to win but the bats let them down again, a consistent refrain this season.

"I talked about putting pressure on last night's pitcher. We weakened him a bit, but we were just the opposite tonight," Oregon coach George Horton said. "He (Simon) had just 47 pitches in the fifth inning and we were not only making outs, but outs early in the count. We were as futile tonight as we were good last night and it's a shame because Madison pitched well and the infield defense was spectacular."

Before stalling the offense did create a little spark in the early moments.

Pulfer led the game off with a solid single to right and moved to third when Brett Thomas shot a ball through the vacated shortstop position into left field. Sabol plated in the lone Oregon run on a fielder's choice.

Arizona broke through in the fifth when Field lined a double in the left-centerfield gap. He later came around to score on a fielder's choice. The Wildcats still had a runner on third with two out, but Boer whiffed Bryce Ortega, one his five strikeouts, to end the threat.

"One of the motivating factors is that it's a series-deciding deal and that's a big deal," Horton said of the rubber game Sunday. "It's a good thing it starts at noon. You don't have to wait too long to get back on the horse."