Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, March 21
Eugene, Ore.
4:05 p.m. CT
Northwestern
7-11-1, 1-4
4
at
6
#21 Oregon
19-3, 7-1
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Northwestern
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
7
1
Oregon
2
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
X
6
9
0
NU Comes Up Short at No. 21 Oregon
3/21/2026 6:28:00 PM | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. – Northwestern was unable to complete the comeback at No. 21 Oregon in a 6-4 setback on Saturday afternoon at PK Park.
C Jay Slater had a standout day both at the plate and behind the plate. Slater slugged his third homer of the season and caught a runner stealing at second base in the contest.
LHP Jake Rifenburg was solid in relief, allowing one run on four hits and zero walks, striking out three in 5.1 innings pitched.
Oregon (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) got on the scoreboard first, drawing first blood on a two-run homer by INF Drew Smith in the bottom of the first.
Northwestern (7-11-1, 1-4 Big Ten) evened the score at two apiece with a pair of runs in the top of the second. With INF Nick Barron on first base, INF Owen McElfatrick doubled him to third to put a couple of runners in scoring position. OF Jack Lausch drove in Barron with a sacrifice fly for the first run, and INF Noah Ruiz plated McElfatrick on a fielder's choice to even the game at two.
The Ducks responded to plate three in the second and added another in the fourth to stretch their lead to four.
Slater brought the Wildcats back within two with a two-run blast to left-center, scoring Ruiz.
RHP Collin Clarke (4-1) surrendered four earned runs on five hits and two walks, striking out 10 for the Ducks.
RHP Garrett Shearer (0-1) is credited with the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks, fanning one in 2.2 innings pitched.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT on B1G+. RHP Matt Kouser is set to make the start for the Wildcats, with RHP Cal Scolari slated to start for Oregon.
C Jay Slater had a standout day both at the plate and behind the plate. Slater slugged his third homer of the season and caught a runner stealing at second base in the contest.
LHP Jake Rifenburg was solid in relief, allowing one run on four hits and zero walks, striking out three in 5.1 innings pitched.
Oregon (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) got on the scoreboard first, drawing first blood on a two-run homer by INF Drew Smith in the bottom of the first.
Northwestern (7-11-1, 1-4 Big Ten) evened the score at two apiece with a pair of runs in the top of the second. With INF Nick Barron on first base, INF Owen McElfatrick doubled him to third to put a couple of runners in scoring position. OF Jack Lausch drove in Barron with a sacrifice fly for the first run, and INF Noah Ruiz plated McElfatrick on a fielder's choice to even the game at two.
The Ducks responded to plate three in the second and added another in the fourth to stretch their lead to four.
Slater brought the Wildcats back within two with a two-run blast to left-center, scoring Ruiz.
RHP Collin Clarke (4-1) surrendered four earned runs on five hits and two walks, striking out 10 for the Ducks.
RHP Garrett Shearer (0-1) is credited with the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks, fanning one in 2.2 innings pitched.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT on B1G+. RHP Matt Kouser is set to make the start for the Wildcats, with RHP Cal Scolari slated to start for Oregon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Clarke, Collin (4-1)
L: Shearer, Garrett (0-1)
S: Bell, Devin (5)
Batting:
2B: McElfatrick, Owen 1
HR: Slater, Jay 1
RBI: Lausch, Jack 1 ; Ruiz, Noah 1 ; Slater, Jay 2
SF: Lausch, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Barron, Nick 1 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Ruiz, Noah 1 ; Slater, Jay 1
Batting:
2B: Gimenez, Jax 1
HR: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Miranda, Gabe 1 ; Jaksa, Brayden 1
RBI: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Smith, Drew 2 ; Miranda, Gabe 2 ; Jaksa, Brayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cooney, Ryan 1 ; Hellman, Dominic 1 ; Smith, Drew 1 ; Molony, Maddox 1 ; Miranda, Gabe 1 ; Jaksa, Brayden 1
CS: Smith, Drew 1
HBP: Molony, Maddox 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
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