NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On Saturday, Oregon baseball upset Vanderbilt 8-7 to move to 2-0 in the Nashville Regional.
With the win, the Ducks advance to the regional final at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday.
They'll face the winner of Vanderbilt and Xavier. Should the Ducks lose, the region would be decided in a rematch on Monday.
The Ducks gave Commodores' pitcher Hunter Owen fits early on. In the first inning, Drew Cowley and Sabin Ceballos both drove in runs. Then with two outs in the frame, school legend Tanner Smith hit a solo home run to right field. That marked his 30th career home run, tying the school record.
In the 2nd inning, Bennett Thompson hit an opposite field home run to put the Ducks up 4-1. But the Commodores responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning to tie up the game.
Sabin Ceballos broke up the tie with an RBI-single in the fifth. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Jacob Walsh cleared the bags with a 3-run double. In a true turning point of the game, Walsh handed Oregon an 8-4 lead.
The Commodores would make things dicey for the Ducks late, as Chris Maldonado hit a two-run homer in the bottom 9th to make it 8-7. But pitcher Josh Mollerus recovered and got RJ Austin to pop up to center for the game's final out.