How Oregon baseball took four-game series vs. Rhode Island after opening series with loss

• The No. 11 Oregon baseball team won its second straight series of the season, defeating Rhode Island in a four-game series at PK Park.
• Oregon closed out the series with a 15-2 win in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, hitting two grand slams in the victory.

Though the series got off to a tough start, the No. 11 Oregon baseball team won each of its last three games against Rhode Island at PK Park over the weekend to take its second straight series to begin the season.

With drizzly conditions most of the weekend, including a major rain delay in the Sunday series finale, both pitching staffs battled adverse conditions, leading to high scores throughout the four-game series.

On Friday, Oregon took a 12-11 defeat in the series opener, allowing 11 hits and falling into a 12-4 hole before a too-little, too-late comeback attempt over the game’s final three innings. Star pitcher Grayson Grinsell was tagged with four earned runs on six hits in his first loss on the season in 5 1/3 innings of work. The Ducks’ bullpen didn’t fare much better, with Santiago Garcia failing to register an out and giving up two runs while Ryan Featherston allowed another five runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Jacob Walsh was a bright spot offensively, going 3 for 6 with two RBIs while Dominic Hellman went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two walks drawn.

The series turned on Saturday, when the Ducks took both games of a doubleheader, the first a 1-0 win in 11 innings and the second a 19-12 win.

In the opener Saturday, Collin Clarke had one of the better starts of his career, pitching seven innings and allowing just four hits with five strikeouts. Cole Stokes and Gabe Howard picked up right where he left off out the bullpen and allowed just one hit combined over the next four innings. The Ducks had just four hits as a team, with Ryan Cooney scoring on a Rhode Island error.

The second game Saturday was completely different, as the Ducks scored seemingly at will, including eight runs in the fourth inning. Mason Neville went 2 for 4 with four runs, four RBIs and two home runs to lead the way at the plate.

In the series finale Sunday the game was halted for nearly three hours due to rain, but finished 15-2 in the Ducks’ favor in seven innings. Oregon hit two grand slams in the game, from freshman Burke-Lee Mabeus and Anson Aroz. Freshman Michael Meckna starred on the mound after the delay, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits with two punchouts.

What’s next for Oregon baseball?

The Ducks (6-2) play their third straight series to open the season at home against Columbia starting at 3:05 p.m. Friday at PK Park. The Lions (1-2) most recently lost a series to Kennesaw State on the road.

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.