Oregon starter Collin Clarke had a bumpy start, allowing four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Penn State's Spencer Barnett.In a 4-0 hole, the Ducks responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of an RBI groundout from Angel Laya. The talented Oregon freshman wasn't done, ripping a two-out RBI double the other way in the third inning to cut the deficit in half.After a shaky start, Clarke was able to settle in for work through 5 ⅔ innings, allowing seven hits but keeping Penn State off the scoreboard after the ugly first inning. He managed to tally four strikeouts as well before handing the game over to the bullpen.The Ducks' offense was kept silent again until the seventh inning, when the Ducks rallied thanks to some miscues in the field by the Nittany Lions.

With two runners in scoring position, Brayden Jaksa reached safely on a fielder's choice and drove in a run. In the next at-bat, Ryan Cooney bunted in front of the plate, but the throw to first was dropped by Penn State's first baseman. However, Penn State coach Mike Gambino argued Cooney dropped his bat in fair territory and impacted catcher Avery Smith's ability to throw to first base.

Since the throw was good and it was the first baseman who made the error, the umpires ruled Cooney safe. Gambino subsequently put the game under protest, which typically means the coach believes the umpires are misinterpreting the rules.The play will be reviewed and if the protest is upheld, the Ducks and Nittany Lions could resume the game from the moment in question.Once play resumed, the Ducks quickly tied the game on an RBI fielder's choice by Drew Smith. It took seven innings, but the Ducks have finally clawed their way back to even after suffering the early deficit.The Ducks ran into trouble again in the eighth, as the Nittany Lions rallied with two outs in the inning to put the go-ahead run on third base.

Mark Wasikowski decided to pull the rip cord and go to his closer, Devin Bell, in a big situation to keep the game knotted up. The senior right-hander did just that, sending the Penn State batter down looking at strike three to end the frame.Bell stayed in, as has been typical in his recent outings, and tossed a season-high 2 ⅓ innings. He didn't allow a baserunner and helped the Ducks push the game into extra innings.After a clean top half of the frame, the Ducks put themselves in a scoring opportunity right away, drawing a pair of walks to lead off the 10th inning thanks to some patient at-bats by Laya and Maddox Molony.

However, the Ducks hit a snag with the bases loaded, when Dominic Hellman came off the bench and couldn't put the ball in the air to bring home the winning run.In fact, nobody put the ball in play. Brooks, who flipped from the bottom of the lineup to the top of Saturday's order, worked a full count and eventually drew the fourth walk of the inning for the Ducks. That forced in Laya for the winning score, and the Oregon crowd that stayed over from the spring game finally went home happy.The Ducks will hunt for the elusive series sweep against a Nittany Lions team that has proven to have more fight than their record suggests.

Oregon could send right-hander Cal Scolari back to the mound after he missed his start last Sunday, or it could be another bullpen effort. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. PT.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: Oregon baseball earns series victory over Penn State with walk-off win