Three takeaways from Oregon’s gritty Pac-12 Tournament win over Cal

Oregon kicked off its postseason journey with a gritty 3-2 win over the Cal Golden Bears in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday.

First baseman Jacob Walsh lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to plate the go-ahead run and give the game its final score.

The No. 6-seeded Ducks (34-20) will now set their sights on Thursday’s matchup with No. 1 Stanford (37-14), which is slated for a 7 p.m. PT first pitch.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Oregon’s pivotal Thursday victory.

The Oregon bullpen was great in high-leverage situations

For much of this season, Oregon’s bullpen has been its Achilles heel.

The Ducks entered the week with a 6.62 ERA against Pac-12 opponents, which ranks eighth in the conference.

On Thursday, though, the bullpen produced one of its best collective showings of the season. Starter Grayson Grinsell departed the game after 3.0 innings with the Ducks trailing 2-1. From that point, five Oregon relieves combined to throw six scoreless frames.

Via Oregon stats broadcast

The Ducks were up against a Cal lineup that features three players who will likely be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft at some point throughout their respective careers: Caleb Lomavita, Rodney Green Jr., and Kade Kretzschmar.

Even still, Oregon held Cal to 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

But…

The Ducks’ squandered too many opportunities

While Oregon’s bullpen consistently excelled with Golden Bears’ runners in scoring position, the Ducks struggled mightily to make the most of their opportunities when they put runners on second and third base.

On the night, Oregon went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. It left nine runners on base and grounded into two double plays while trailing.

It was an atypically poor showing for a squad that is hitting .296 on the season.

While Walsh ultimately prevailed in the eighth inning to push the Ducks across the finish line, many of the players who have carried Oregon offensively failed to produce against the Golden Bears.

For much of this season, hitting has been contagious for the Ducks. They will need to get back on track quickly if they hope to advance past a Stanford team that is one of the best in action.

The pitching staff takes shape

During a mid-game interview with the Pac-12 Network commentators, Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski was asked for an update on Ducks’ ace right-hander Jace Stoffal.

The Ducks’ Friday night starter has been sidelined for the past three weeks with what Wasikowski described as “a finger thing” on Thursday. While Wasikowski expressed optimism that Stoffal will pitch in a regional later this month for the Ducks, he didn’t provide a clear answer on whether or not the junior will be available at the Pac-12 Tournament.

With Stoffal out, freshman lefty Grayson Grinsell got the starting nod for the Ducks against Cal.

It was a curious choice from pitching coach Jake Angier; Grinsell has been tremendous in a bullpen role this season and entered the week with a 3.78 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. But Thursday marked his first career start.

Ultimately, the decision paid dividends for the Ducks. Grinsell overcame a shaky start and gave Oregon 3.0 strong innings.

Logan Mercado, who has served as Oregon’s Friday starter in Stoffal’s absence, came on for a relief appearance with two outs in the sixth inning and Green — Cal’s No. 3 hitter — at the plate. Mercado ran up a 2-2 count against the Golden Bears’ star center fielder and then struck him out looking to get the Ducks out of a jam.

Mercado stayed on in the eighth inning and produced an outstanding 1-2-3 frame. He needed just 13 pitches to produce four outs and bridged the gap to Ducks’ closer Josh Mollerus, who produced a scoreless ninth inning to end the game.

Mercado’s bullpen cameo was likely a “side day” that puts him in line to start against the Cardinal on Thursday. Oregon will also have Turner Spoljaric, who earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors after a stellar start last Friday, available on full rest.

While giving Grinsell the starting nod may have appeared risky at first glance on Thursday, Angier’s gamble ultimately paid off.

Even if Stoffal isn’t available on Thursday, the Ducks will be able to lean on Mercado and Spoljaric against the Pac-12’s top team.

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