Oregon’s bullpen melted down yet again, costing the No. 15 Ducks a midweek clash with Portland for a third straight season.
Cole Stokes walked one and hit three batters all with two outs as the Pilots stunned the Ducks 7-6 Wednesday night at Joe Etzel Field.
It’s the third straight loss for Oregon (20-8), all in Quadrant 3, and one of the better wins this season for Portland (12-17).
Jacob Walsh hit a two-run home run to give the Ducks the early lead. Trey Swygart got a run back for the Pilots with an RBI single in the bottom of the first and later tied it at 2 with a solo home run in the third.
An error allowed two runs to score in the top of the fifth as Oregon went ahead 4-2, but Portland took the lead in the bottom of the frame thanks to two wild pitches and a walk.
Anson Aroz hit a two-run home run to put Oregon ahead 6-5 after six, then Zach Toglia tied it with a solo homer in the seventh.
Stokes (1-2) worked around a one-out triple in the eighth by striking out the side and opened the ninth with back-to-back outs, then hit Toglia, walked Spencer Scott, hit Cody Nitowitz to load the bases then forced in the winning run by hitting Tyler Howard.
Stokes allowed one run on one hit, one walk and three hit batters with four strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings.
Kaden Segal (3-2) allowed one hit in one-third of an inning and earned the win as the third of five relievers for the Pilots, who combined to strike out 16.
Oregon hosts a three-game series against Michigan beginning at 5 p.m. Friday.