No. 18 Ducks Defeat Tigers 18-1 in Nashville Regional Opener Friday

NASHVILLE, TENN. – The No. 18 Oregon Ducks totaled 20 hits in their 18-1 win over Clemson in the first game of the Nashville Regional at Hawkins Field on Friday afternoon. The Ducks, who moved into the winners’ bracket, improved to 43-18, while the Tigers, who fell into the losers’ bracket, dropped to 36-24 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Steve Wilkerson‘s two-out single to score Tyler Slaton. But the Ducks responded with three runs in the second inning to take the lead for good. Oregon added five runs in the fourth inning, three runs in the fifth inning and seven runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

Oregon starter Tommy Thorpe (11-4) earned the win by allowing just five hits, one run and four walks with four strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched. Tiger starter Matthew Crownover (8-6) suffered the loss. The Tigers play the loser of Friday night’s game between No. 1 seed Vanderbilt and No. 4 seed Xavier on Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT on ESPN3.

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