Ducks use the long ball to stun the Huskies late and take Game 1

It's always nice when the OregonDucks defeat Washington in anything, whether it be in football, basketball or even checkers.

On this first day of the month of May, it just happens to be in baseball that the Ducks handed the Huskies a big loss on the diamond. Oregon rallied from a 4-2 deficit to take a 6-4 victory in Seattle.

Burke-Lee Mabius provided the big blow for the Ducks in the eighth inning. Oregon was down by that 4-2 score when the Duck catcher came to the plate with two on and two out. He turned on a 1-0 fastball and crushed it to right field for a huge three-run home run to give the visitors a 5-4 lead. If that wasn't enough, designated hitter Naulivou Lauaki, Jr. took an 0-2 pitch from reliever Tommy Brandenberg and deposited it over the centerfield wall 433 feet from home plate and Oregon led 6-4.

That was all Duck reliever Tanner Bradley needed as he threw a scoreless eighth and ninth for his first save of the season.

With the win, the Ducks go to 34-11 overall and 16-6 in Big Ten action. Washington drops to 20-25 overall and 9-13 in conference play.

It was all Washington for most of the night as the Huskies had a lead for most of the game. They jumped on Oregon starter Will Sanford for three runs in the first and then one more in the second for a 4-1 lead. Although Sanford struggled for most of his outing, he was able to hold the Huskies to four in order to give his offense a chance to get back in the game.

Relievers Luke Morgan, Toby Twist, Gabe Howard, and Bradley all came out of the bullpen and did their job. On most nights, the Duck offense would eventually get going and on this night, it did.

These two teams get together once again for Game 2 of the series at 7 pm and it will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ducks use the long ball to stun the Huskies late and take Game 1