GAME 1 - 247 SPORTS: Ducks baseball drop first game against Sun Devils (1 photo, article)
Ducks baseball drop first game against Sun Devils
The Ducks sent Robby Ahlstrom to the mound, fresh off a dominant performance against Oregon State last week to get the Ducks rolling against the Sun Devils. Ahlstrom wasn’t as prevalent against ASU, but the Sun Devils feature one of the most prolific offenses in the country, as their first six batters are hitting over .300. After a quick 3-0 lead, Ahlstrom took hits in back-to-back innings, allowing the Sun Devils to take a 4-3 lead after the second inning.
Ahlstrom fell victim to getting behind batters and making his fastball his primary pitch. Ahlstrom doesn’t feature the fastball velocity that other Ducks rotation members, so his command is what gets him by in most situations.
In the third inning, Ahlstrom allowed three straight hits after getting an out, as all three batters would end up scoring. Hunter Jump would send two of those runs home on a two-RBI double to right field. Jump worked the count into a 3-2 spot, forcing Ahlstrom to throw his fastball. Jump jumped all over the pitch, which knotted the game at three.
Jump ultimately scored on a Long single before Ahlstrom retired the side. Ahlstrom retired 11 of the next 13 batters, forcing his way into the seventh inning. At the start of the game, it certainly didn’t seem like Ahlstrom would last that long, but he was able to start adjusting to ASU’s aggressive approach, starting multiple at-bats with curveballs and sliders.
Ahlstrom threw his curveball religiously in the sixth inning, starting batters off with it, and finishing them off with fastballs high. A common trend with Ducks pitchers in 2021.
After Ahlstrom left in the seventh, freshman Isaac Ayon took the hill. Ayon allowed a leadoff single but showcased his potential in the next two batters. Oregon’s coaching staff is high on Ayon, as the righty got his fastball up to 93 MPH, but his curveball showed significant late tilt and kept hitters off balance.
However, Ayon got ahead 0-2 against Long before failing to locate his offspeed, anywhere close to the plate, filling the count to 3-2.
Long sat back on the fastball on 3-2 and deposited the pitch over the left-center fence, a no-doubt shot. Long immediately put his head down, gave his bat a light toss, and jogged around the bases to give ASU a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Oregon’s offense has been on a tear in March, torching the outfield and nets over the fence in Santa Barbara and coming up with clutch hits in Corvallis. Against ASU, Oregon started hot once again, looking like the offense traveled back home.
Three straight hits from Kenyon Yovan, Gabe Matthews, and the first of four hits for Aaron Zavala gave Oregon two runs in the first inning. Zavala would touch home on a Sam Novitske single, and the Ducks quickly found themselves up 3-0 after one. From there, Oregon would garner just five more baserunners in eight innings.
The Ducks offense was shut down by reliever Jared Glenn, who went 7.1 scoreless innings against the Ducks. Glenn didn’t feature any crazy putout pitches, but he constantly induced weak contact from Oregon, getting the dicks to roll into double plays and soft ground balls to the pull-side of the hitter.
The only bat that didn’t remain silent was Zavala, who racked up four hits against ASU. Each single was well hit, showcasing Zavala’s talent as the sophomore hit a gaudy .479 on the season.
After the first inning, Oregon hit into nine ground ball outs. Most of the outs were soft hit grounders, as Glenn was able to get into the hands of Oregon’s batters.
The Ducks drop the first game of the series but have a chance to knot the series at one on Saturday. Cullen Kafka gets the start with the first pitch scheduled for 2:05 PM.
Ducks baseball drop first game against Sun Devils (247sports.com)
