EUGENE, Ore. — Mason Neville homered in both the first and second innings to give No. 20 Oregon an early lead and RJ Gordon did not let Washington State back in the game in the Ducks’ 9-2 Pac-12 Conference win on Thursday night at PK Park.
Neville reached base four times going 2-for-3 with two home runs and a career-high five RBI while walking twice and scoring three runs. Gordon (7-4) gave Oregon a strong start holding the Cougars (21-30, 9-19 Pac-12) to two runs on five hits in 6.0 innings of work with six strikeouts.
With the win, Oregon (35-16, 17-11 Pac-12) locked up at least a top-four seed in next week’s Pac-12 Tournament. The Ducks can still finish as high as second in the standings.
How It Happened: Neville gave the Ducks an early lead lining his 13th home run of the season over the right-field wall in the bottom of the first, a two-run shot after leadoff batter Drew Smith reached on a hit-by-pitch.
WSU got one back in the top of the second on a ground ball that Carter Garate dove for and deflected past shortstop Maddox Molony who was in position to make the play.
Oregon came right back with a three-run inning in the second, thanks to Neville. After Bryce Boettcher and Smith reached on walks, Neville laced a two-out, three-run home run over the center-field wall for a 5-1 lead.
The Ducks made it 6-1 in the third. Jeffery Heard reached on a hit-by-pitch, moved to third on a Molony single through the right side and then scored on a wild pitch.
After the Cougars scored a run on a solo homer in the top of the sixth, Oregon added three runs in its half of the inning. Chase Meggers reached on an infield hit before Smith and Neville loaded the bases for Jacob Walsh with back-to-back walks. Walsh responded with a bases-clearing double to center field to put Oregon up by seven.
Box Score Notes: Neville’s home runs were his 13th and 14th of the season, moving him into a tie for sixth on Oregon’s single-season home run list … The two-home run game was Neville’s second in the last nine games and he now has six home runs in those nine games … Walsh’s three-run double gave him 128 for his career, tying him with Mitchell Tolman (2013-15) for fourth all-time at Oregon … Gordon’s quality start was his fifth of the season … Gordon picked up his 14th career win.
On Deck: The Ducks and Cougars play game two of the series on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Quotes:
Head Coach Mark Wasikowski
On overall performance…
“I thought they played a complete game. Got a good start from RJ Gordon, got some really clutch swings from Mason Neville. Some good at bats lead to Mason having the traffic on the bases to where those home runs counted for more than one run. Then late in the ballgame to have Jacob Walsh extend the lead with that single, the guy had to go for it. You can’t fault their player. The guy made a great effort on the play, and it got away from him. Didn’t make that play and we were able to get three on that big swing from Jacob.”
On Mason Neville’s game…
“Mason was a top-50 player out of high school, and we fell short in the recruiting battle and that was really disappointing to me. You don’t want to fall short in a recruiting battle, especially when you think you’re the best program to have a young guy like himself come and join. At the time he disagreed, and then he joined us afterwards. I wish my staff and I had another year of development with him. We would have loved to have been a part of that first year out of high school. I think now that we’re getting late in the year, you see how talented he is and the development and the growth that he’s had over the course of the year.”
On RJ Gordon’s pitching…
“His velocity was back up, it was great to see. I think it wasn’t a season best velocity, but it was up there with the best velo that he’s had all year. That just tells you how strong the kid is. One day short on rest isn’t a big deal for these guys. In the big leagues, those guys are going four days rest and every fifth day they’re getting rolled out there. The college slate is a little bit easier on the arm than it would be in pro ball. He is just a strong kid and he’s worked his tail off to get to a point where he is resilient. Him having the philosophy that he’s had now in some time on one shorter day is a testament to how strong he is and Darrell Hunter’s work in the weight room.”
On carrying momentum into Pac-12 tournament…
“The complete games will result in the work they’re putting in between games and before games. The practice time leads to what you see in the completeness of the games, so just to continue to do our work the right way.”
RJ Gordon
Arm strength at the end of the season…
“Feels good. Throwing hard and getting my recovery in. I’m doing everything I need to be doing and now it’s just about putting it all together on the field.”
How the feeling was on the mound…
“It was good. My sole plan today was just to throw hard, to be honest. I did that, it worked out and I don’t have any creeping feelings that I need to get over.”
Emotions for the last time potentially on the mound at PK Park…
“I haven’t even thought about that yet, to be honest. It’s kind of crazy. Hopefully, it’s not the last time. Hopefully, we find a way to play here again whether its in the Regional or Super Regional. If it was my last time, I am happy I went out there and did what I wanted to. It’s been a hell of a four years so I wouldn’t take anything back.”
Mason Neville
Biggest developments this year…
“I feel like with (Coach Jack) Marder I’ve worked a lot on my swing. He works really hard and I work just as hard I think. We have had little things that we have worked on. Some have worked and some haven’t, but I feel like the biggest thing for me has been the mental side of things. Being able to go out there and flush away striking out or failures and just continue to get better. I feel like the mental side has been very important.”
Feelings at the plate…
“I feel like we are facing good pitchers still. I just feel like my approach and confidence that I am working on in the cages and at practice is paying off, yet there’s still room for improvement.“
