💛 247 SPORTS: Robby Ashford leads No. 16 Oregon to a series win over ASU
It was an impressive win for the No. 16 Oregon Ducks, taking down Arizona State 5-3, showcasing an essential ability of manufacturing runs when necessary.
In the past, Oregon’s offense has shown extreme cases of volatility. Hanging crooked numbers (two or more runs in an inning) while going scoreless for most of, if not the rest of the game. On Sunday, Oregon did not hang a crooked number all game but scored five runs against the Sun Devils pitching staff.
Oregon came out with an early game deficit, as ASU put two runs across against Brett Walker in the first inning. Tanner Smith led the game off for the Ducks with a triple, a towering fly ball to left-field, turning the left fielder around before the ball landed a few feet away from being a home run. Kenyon Yovan kept his hot bat alive, launching an RBI ground-rule double over the right-center field fence.
Yovan’s pure power was on display for that hit, taking an outside fastball and flicking the bat and getting the ball to carry over 350 feet into one of the deepest areas in the ballpark.
Yovan has quickly become one of the most feared hitters in the Pac-12, as hitting six home runs in just 10 games will do that, but, later in the contest, ASU elected to intentionally walk Yovan with no outs and no one on base. The strategy ended up paying off, but Yovan continues to strike fear into opposing dugouts.
The Ducks would space out multiple one-run innings, scoring on a passed ball in the third, advancing a runner home on a double play in the fifth, and scoring on a fielder’s choice in the sixth. However, the offensive day belonged to dual-sport athlete Robby Ashford, who produced his best game as a member of the Oregon baseball program.
Ashford started for the first game of the series, patrolling centerfield in the spacious PK Park outfield, but didn’t have too many opportunities to showcase his speed on defense. On offense, Ashford did get to show the Duck baseball community what makes him such a tantalizing prospect.
The freshman scorched a 0-2 fastball up the middle, and the ball proceeded to roll to the left-center field wall. One of the hardest-hit balls of the season gave Ashford a chance to turn on the afterburners, gliding around the basepaths and jogging into third base for a standup triple. A challenging feat, hitting a standup triple to left field, looked easy for the gifted athlete, but he wasn’t done yet.
A seven-pitch walk in the sixth inning showed Ashford’s progression at the plate, fouling off a well-placed slider to stay alive before taking a high and away slider for ball four. The eighth inning started with an Ashford single before, once again, the freshman showcased his impressive athletic ability.
With a lefty on the mound, Ashford swiped second base without a throw down, cementing his first career stolen base. Before long, Ashford was taking off for third, easily beating the throw down, springing quickly to his feet from his pop-up slide. Ashford would score on a sacrifice fly to center, singlehandedly manufacturing a much-needed insurance run for the Ducks.
As for the pitching, Oregon’s Walker was fighting for his entire outing. Walker wasn’t working at his best, struggling with command at points and walking three batters. But, much like most of Oregon’s staff this year, Walker was able to limit damage and pitch to contact with his elite defense behind him.
Walker induced a litany of ground balls on Sunday, relying heavily on his left side of the infield, and the duo of Josh Kasevich and Sam Novitske were up for the challenge. Kasevich was active all day, including making web gem plays to end the third inning while working as a great middleman for the double plays turned.
With such an elite defense behind the Ducks pitching staff, there is growing confidence that it will be an out if a ball gets hit on the ground. Pitching with confidence in their defense is just as important as how talented the pitcher is.
The Ducks finish off their first conference series win of the year, which only happened twice during the 2019 season. Oregon should continue to be ranked in the top-25 following the series win, with the program heading in the right direction.
Oregon’s next opponent is a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Portland State before heading to Tuscon to take on Arizona for a three-game series starting next Friday.
