The Oregon Ducks faced off against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in Game 1 of the Super Regionals matchup of the NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday. Things looked bleak for much of the game, trailing by as much as eight runs in the game.
However, they came through with one of the most improbable comeback wins in the history of the tournament.
Oral Roberts blitzed Oregon with an eight-run inning, capped off by a three-run RBI single from first baseman Jake McMurray.
Most teams would fold from both the massive deficit and the extreme pressure that comes with playing in the Super Regionals. Oregon did no such thing, instead slowly creeping back into the game.
The Ducks started with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third inning from first baseman Jacob Walsh and catcher Bennett Thompson to cut the lead to six.
Thompson had a big impact in this game, hitting another home run in his next at-bat in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it an 8-5 game.
Oregon had the long ball going in this game. Designated hitter Drew Smith came through with a solo shot of his own to cut the deficit to just two.
The momentum of this game shifted drastically towards the Ducks, and it never went back the other way. Oregon would tie the game after RBI singles from both Drew Cowley and Tanner Smith in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Oregon would finally go on to officially win this game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off single from shortstop Drew Cowley.
This comeback from Oregon puts them in rare company. Prior to this game, teams trailing by at least eight runs were 0-96 in Super Regional games.
Many around the baseball world took notice of the ridiculous win and shared their reaction on social media.
Credit has to be given to Oregon for the terrific comeback, but Oral Roberts certainly blew this game as well. The Golden Eagles will have their chance to bounce back from this brutal collapse in Game 2 of the three-game set on Saturday.
[The Comeback on Twitter] Photo Credit: ESPN
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.