Oregon Looks to Rebound Against UC San Diego After Extra-Inning Loss

LA JOLLA, Calif. (Interstat) — The Oregon Ducks, seeking to bounce back from a walk-off loss, continue their road swing Wednesday against the UC San Diego Tritons at UCSD Triton Baseball Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PDT under cloudy skies with a game-time temperature near 79 degrees.

Oregon (19-4) arrives with one of the nation’s top records but is coming off a 12-inning, 11-10 defeat to Northwestern on Sunday. The Ducks had won 10 of their previous 11, including a series victory over the Wildcats and a sweep of Indiana.

UC San Diego (9-11) salvaged its series with UC Riverside by winning 14-10 on Sunday. The Tritons have shown offensive potency but have struggled for consistency, particularly during an earlier four-game skid at Cincinnati.

A player to watch for Oregon is designated hitter Dominic Hellman. He is coming off a powerful performance in Sunday’s loss, going 3 for 6 with two home runs and six RBIs. In his last 10 games, Hellman has four homers and 16 RBIs.

For the Tritons, second baseman Addison Klepsch is a key bat. He drove in three runs in Sunday’s win over UC Riverside and had a three-RBI game with a home run in the series opener last Friday.

The teams opened their two-game midweek series Tuesday, with Oregon shutting out UC San Diego. The Ducks’ Luke Morgan, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts Sunday, could be available again out of the bullpen.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Oregon 8, UC San Diego 5.

Following Wednesday’s contest, Oregon travels to face UC Santa Barbara for a three-game series starting Friday. UC San Diego opens a Big West Conference series at UC Davis on Friday.