Sunday, March 18
Eugene, OR
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
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UCLA
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UCLA
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Oregon
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Photo by: Eric Evans Photography
Walk-Off Blast By Rhodes Gives Ducks Victory In Rubber Match With UCLA
03/18/18 | Softball
Megan Kleist threw a six-hit shutout and Shannon Rhodes made it stand up with a three-run, walk-off blast in the bottom of the seventh inning to give No. 6 Oregon a 3-0 win Sunday afternoon.
EUGENE, Ore. — Shannon Rhodes wasn't necessarily looking for something to drive. But when UCLA ace Rachel Garcia left a pitch out over the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning of a scoreless game Sunday afternoon, Rhodes pounced.
The Oregon sophomore blasted a three-run, walk-off home run to left-center field in Jane Sanders Stadium, giving the No. 6 Ducks a 3-0 victory Sunday in the rubber match of a three-game series between the two top-10 teams and Pac-12 heavyweights. Rhodes struck out three times against Garcia in the No. 3 Bruins 6-2 victory Friday, but despite falling behind 0-2 with two on and one out in the seventh Sunday, she got a pitch to hit and launched a missile to left-center.
"No pitcher is superwoman," Rhodes said. "There comes a time when you've got to dig deep and believe in yourself, rather than be afraid."
How It Happened: Rhodes' walk-off blast made a winner of UO junior right-hander Megan Kleist, who matched zeros with Garcia all afternoon. Two days after allowing three runs on a pair of homers in Friday's loss, Kleist through a six-hit shutout and struck out six with one walk.
UO coach Mike White said the home runs Friday were correctable mistakes. Kleist apparently learned from them. "She made them hit her pitch, and that was the difference," White said.
Oregon's seventh-inning rally began with Mary Iakopo being hit by a pitch, and senior Gwen Svekis followed with a lengthy at-bat that ended with her blooping a single into short left field. Mia Camuso bunted the runners over, and though Rhodes was just looking to put the runners in motion with a ground ball, she got all of it for the walk-off winner.
"She was throwing a riseball, and with my swing plane, something was bound to happen," Rhodes said.
The game was not without earlier drama, beginning with a strikeout of Garcia by Kleist with two on and two out in the first inning. Kleist kept the Bruin bats quiet until the sixth, when leadoff hitter Briana Perez reached on a leadoff bunt and Kylee Perez moved her up with a single.
Aaliyah Jordan bunted both runners over, but Briana Perez tried to score on the play and Lauren Lindvall fielded the out at first before throwing home to Svekis for the double play.
The Ducks also threatened in the sixth, with Lindvall blooping a double to short right and taking second thanks to an aggressive turn at first. DJ Sanders bunted pinch runner Cherish Burks to third, and Oregon had the top of the order coming up with one out and a runner 60 feet from home. Jenna Lilley nearly made it 2-0 with a long drive to right field that was just foul, but she struck out on the next pitch and Garcia also struck out Alexis Mack to end the threat.
The bottom of UCLA's order rallied in the seventh, putting runners at the corners with a pair of two-out singles. But Kleist coaxed a comebacker to end the inning, and set the stage for Rhodes' dramatics.
Who Stood Out: Kleist improved to 8-4 on the season, and lowered her ERA to 0.90. Rhodes' homer was her sixth of the spring, and she's up to 24 RBIs, tied for third on the team with Iakopo behind Svekis (30) and Lilley (27).
What It Means: The Ducks got the UCLA monkey off their back, two years after the Bruins ended their season in Super Regionals at The Jane and a year after UCLA ended Oregon's 35-game win streak to open the 2017 season.
Up Next: The Ducks will take a break for final exams over the upcoming week, before going on the road in conference play for the first time this season with a three-game series at Oregon State beginning March 29.
The Oregon sophomore blasted a three-run, walk-off home run to left-center field in Jane Sanders Stadium, giving the No. 6 Ducks a 3-0 victory Sunday in the rubber match of a three-game series between the two top-10 teams and Pac-12 heavyweights. Rhodes struck out three times against Garcia in the No. 3 Bruins 6-2 victory Friday, but despite falling behind 0-2 with two on and one out in the seventh Sunday, she got a pitch to hit and launched a missile to left-center.
"No pitcher is superwoman," Rhodes said. "There comes a time when you've got to dig deep and believe in yourself, rather than be afraid."
How It Happened: Rhodes' walk-off blast made a winner of UO junior right-hander Megan Kleist, who matched zeros with Garcia all afternoon. Two days after allowing three runs on a pair of homers in Friday's loss, Kleist through a six-hit shutout and struck out six with one walk.
UO coach Mike White said the home runs Friday were correctable mistakes. Kleist apparently learned from them. "She made them hit her pitch, and that was the difference," White said.
Oregon's seventh-inning rally began with Mary Iakopo being hit by a pitch, and senior Gwen Svekis followed with a lengthy at-bat that ended with her blooping a single into short left field. Mia Camuso bunted the runners over, and though Rhodes was just looking to put the runners in motion with a ground ball, she got all of it for the walk-off winner.
"She was throwing a riseball, and with my swing plane, something was bound to happen," Rhodes said.
.@MeganKleist was stellar, the defense was solid and @ShannonRhodes2 was clutch.
— Oregon Softball (@OregonSB) March 18, 2018
Highlights from the No. 6 Ducks' big 3-0 win over No. 3 UCLA to take the series ?? #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/XgjHdbAyfo
The game was not without earlier drama, beginning with a strikeout of Garcia by Kleist with two on and two out in the first inning. Kleist kept the Bruin bats quiet until the sixth, when leadoff hitter Briana Perez reached on a leadoff bunt and Kylee Perez moved her up with a single.
Aaliyah Jordan bunted both runners over, but Briana Perez tried to score on the play and Lauren Lindvall fielded the out at first before throwing home to Svekis for the double play.
The Ducks also threatened in the sixth, with Lindvall blooping a double to short right and taking second thanks to an aggressive turn at first. DJ Sanders bunted pinch runner Cherish Burks to third, and Oregon had the top of the order coming up with one out and a runner 60 feet from home. Jenna Lilley nearly made it 2-0 with a long drive to right field that was just foul, but she struck out on the next pitch and Garcia also struck out Alexis Mack to end the threat.
The bottom of UCLA's order rallied in the seventh, putting runners at the corners with a pair of two-out singles. But Kleist coaxed a comebacker to end the inning, and set the stage for Rhodes' dramatics.
Who Stood Out: Kleist improved to 8-4 on the season, and lowered her ERA to 0.90. Rhodes' homer was her sixth of the spring, and she's up to 24 RBIs, tied for third on the team with Iakopo behind Svekis (30) and Lilley (27).
What It Means: The Ducks got the UCLA monkey off their back, two years after the Bruins ended their season in Super Regionals at The Jane and a year after UCLA ended Oregon's 35-game win streak to open the 2017 season.
Up Next: The Ducks will take a break for final exams over the upcoming week, before going on the road in conference play for the first time this season with a three-game series at Oregon State beginning March 29.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kleist, Megan (8-4)
L: Garcia, Rachel (11-1)
Batting:
SH: Jordan, Aaliyah 1
Base Running:
SB: Crawford, Jenna 1
Batting:
2B: Lindvall, Lauren 1
HR: Rhodes, Shannon 1
RBI: Rhodes, Shannon 3
SH: Camuso, Mia 1 ; Sanders, DJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burke, Lauren 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Rhodes, Shannon 1
CS: Rhodes, Shannon 1
HBP: Iakopo, Mary 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballC
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