Oregon baseball goes 2-and-out in Pac-12 Tournament and awaits postseason fate

Much like Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to Utah in its Pac-12 Tournament opener, No. 3 seed Oregon baseball couldn’t get its bats going in a 4-2 defeat to No. 4 USC Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona to finish 0-2 in the tournament.

The Ducks (37-18, 19-11 Pac-12) managed nine hits, but left 10 runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

With their second loss at the tournament during pool play, the Ducks won’t defend their 2023 Pac-12 Tournament title and will have to wait until Monday to find out when, where or if they’ll play in the NCAA Tournament next week for regionals.

What happened in Oregon's loss to USC

After a terrific start, Oregon pitcher RJ Gordon ran into trouble and gave up the first runs of the game in the sixth inning. Ryan Jackson went yard to open the inning and Ethan Hedges and Brayden Dowd knocked in two more runs to give USC a 3-0 lead.

Gordon, who held USC to just three hits through five innings and no runs, allowed five hits in the sixth inning alone. He finished his day with three strikeouts over six innings pitched, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk.

The Ducks scratched a run across in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Chase Meggers RBI single but stranded the game-tying run at first with another man at third.

The Trojans got one right back off a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give them a 4-1 lead heading into the stretch. Meggers knocked in another run on a groundout that resulted in another RBI, but the Ducks couldn’t manage another in the 4-2 loss.

USC starter William Watson pitched six innings and allowed just one run on seven hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

Mason Neville went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple at the plate, and Carter Garate went 2-for-4 in a losing effort.

What's next for Oregon baseball?

Two losses in the Pac-12 Tournament won’t do the Ducks any favors come the NCAA Tournament selection show on Monday, though Oregon’s resume does warrant inclusion as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.

Heading into Thursday’s matchup Oregon ranked 50th in the RPI, which calculates a team’s strength based on a variety of factors like strength of schedule.

The Ducks will find out their postseason fate at 9 a.m. Monday during the selection show on ESPN2.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon baseball bounced from Pac-12 Tournament