EUGENE, Ore. – Tommy Thorpe tossed seven shutout innings and No. 10 Oregon defeated Washington State 11-1 in the opener of a three-game Pac-12 Conference baseball series at PK Park.
With the victory, the Ducks (29-10, 8-5 Pac-12), along with UCLA, moved past Arizona State into a tie for third place in the conference standings. The Cougars (17-17, 7-6) are in sixth place, a half game behind the Sun Devils.
Oregon took advantage of three Washington State errors in the first inning to score four times off Cougar starter Joe Pistorese (3-2). The Ducks added two runs in the second and two more in the fourth against Pistorese for an 8-0 lead.
Oregon tacked on a run in the fifth and two in the sixth off the Washington State bullpen before the Cougars picked up a run in the eighth against the Duck bullpen to avoid the shutout.
Thorpe (6-3) limited the Cougars to two hits and struck out eight. Washington State scored when Trace Tam Sing was hit by a pitch, Cameron Frost and Wes Leow singled and Ben Roberts hit a sacrifice fly.
The series continues, Friday at 6 p.m.
