The Ducks had a run taken off the scoreboard following a call reversal during a 6-5 first-round loss in the Eugene Regional.
EUGENE – Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski raced up the stairs to the East Endzone Terrace at Autzen Stadium following his team’s 6-5 loss to Utah Valley in the first round of the Eugene Regional Friday night at PK Park.
Wasikowski was visibly displeased while sitting at a table awaiting players Drew Smith and Jason Reitz to join him for the postgame press conference.
The loss to the regional’s No. 4 seeded Wolverines was enough to place Wasikowski in a bad mood. But the play that proved to be the difference only added gasoline to his competitive fire.
The Ducks trailed 6-4 in the eighth inning after Smith hit his second home run of the night. Next, catcher Anson Aroz walked, then moved to third on a single by Maddox Molony.
Chase Meggers hit a sacrifice fly to left that resulted to Aroz scoring from home.
On the play, Aroz crashed into Utah Valley catcher Mason Strong at the plate after he mishandled the throw. Aroz touched the plate and the score changed to 6-5.
Wolverines coach Nate Rasmussen asked the umpires to look at the play because he felt Aroz had committed “malicious contact” while running over Strong.
Several minutes later, the umpire reversed his decision, called Aroz out because of the malicious contact, which comes with an ejection and an automatic suspension for Saturday’s game against Cal Poly. The run was wiped off the board, returning the score to 6-4.
The run proved to be enormous, as the Ducks added a run in the ninth, only to lose by a run.
Following the game, a stone-faced Wasikowski was at first matter-of-fact about the call, saying that the umpires told him the reversal came from Pittsburgh, where the NCAA’s replay command center is located.
“All they said is it came from Pittsburgh,” Wasikowski said. “I feel bad for the umpires.”
When further asked about what he was told, Wasikowski again said the call came from Pittsburgh and that it was out of the umpires’ hands. He then praised Aroz for doing what he could to score.
“I’m really proud of the way Anson Aroz went into home plate the way he did,” Wasikowski said. “I was taught to play hard. I was taught to get after it by my dad and my coaches growing up. And, unfortunately, playing hard was not rewarded tonight by whatever rule was supposedly violated by a player that was playing hard.”
Rasmussen said didn’t want to burn a challenge so he asked the umpires to review the play and they agreed.
“I just didn’t think he slid,” Rasmussen said. “That was the big thing. It just felt like he didn’t go down for an actual baseball move. That’s what I saw in the moment … All I know was that our catcher got hit hard and I was right there for his safety. And I’m glad that it obviously went in our direction.”
Despite being upset over the call, Wasikowski gave the Wolverines (33-17) credit for winning the game.
“I thought they did a tremendous job being able to capitalize on the opportunities that they had,” he said. “Very proud of the effort of the team that I coach. I guess the silver lining is we get a chance to be able to play for a regional championship four more times at PK Park.”
The Ducks (42-15) are faced with an elimination situation when they play Cal Poly (41-18), a 3-2 loser to Arizona on Friday.
Oregon must win four consecutive games to claim the regional title.
The loss included a stellar performance by 6-foot-11 junior pitcher Jason Reitz. He recorded 14 strikeouts in six innings. However, he allowed four runs in the third inning, and put two runners on base with a walk and hit by pitch in the seventh. Both runs scored to give the Wolverines a 6-3 lead.
“The 14 Ks, it is what it is but the bottom line is, I didn’t feel like I did my job to the standard that I needed to, to help us win the game,” Reitz said.
Wasikowski had considered removing Reitz before the seventh but said that the pitcher asked to remain in the game.
Oregon out-hit the Wolverines 10-5 but left eight runners on base, compared to three for Utah Valley.
“We didn’t do enough with our opportunities,” Wasikowski said. “I think we left quite a few guys on base compared to Utah Valley … We weren’t able to cash them in when we needed to.”
Wasikowski said he expects the Ducks to shake off the loss and respond well on Saturday.
“I think they’ll play great tomorrow,” Wasikowski said. “Backs against the wall … I think we’ll play much better and cleaner, probably more than we did today.”
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (X), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts
Source: Utah News