Salling Homers Twice in Oregon's 4-0 Victory Over Penn State to Open Regionals

Friday, May 18

Columbia, S.C.

1 p.m.

University of Oregon

43-17

Penn State

26-24

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Penn State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Oregon	0	0	3	1	0	0	X	4	6	0

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

Salling Homers Twice in Oregon's 4-0 Victory Over Penn State to Open Regionals

05/18/07 | Softball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. ?Jenn Salling proved why she was named the Pacific-10 Conference Newcomer of the Year, hitting back-to-back home runs as 20^th-ranked Oregon won its first game of the 2007 NCAA Regionals, defeating Penn State, 4-0, in Columbia, S.C on Friday afternoon at Beckham Field.

Oregon will play host and No. 4 seed South Carolina on Saturday at 10 a.m., after the Gamecocks upset the No. 1 seed in the bracket, North Carolina State by the score of 5-2.

"Obviously we are excited to start the tournament with a win. I think our defense played really well," head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "Alicia Cook is still battling through an illness. For her to come out and pitch a shutout, especially in a Regional, is awesome. Jenn Salling definitely found her bat with two home runs and a couple of RBIs. Penn State is a solid ball club so this is a quality win. Hopefully this win will get us rolling and get some of the nerves out of the way going in to tomorrow's game."

Salling got Oregon (43-17) on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third. The Port Coquitlam, BC native, blasted her 13^th home run of the season to right center with Sari-Jane Jenkins on second.

The Ducks were able to add one more run in the inning, when senior Kristi Leiter snuck an RBI single through the right side, scoring freshman Neena Bryant from second. The Placentia, Calif., native reached base with a two-out double ? her 12^th of the season ? to right field.

Salling then continued to add RBIs to her stats column, clubbing her 14^th home run of the year, a solo shot dead to center field in the fourth. Salling, also a Pacific Region first team selection, now has 71 RBIs on the season to lead the team, obliterating the Ducks' previous record of 47. It was the first time an Oregon player had multiple home runs in a single game since Ann Marie Topps accomplished the feat on March 24 of this year against Idaho State.

"I thought that our team made good adjustments throughout the game," Salling said. "We faced a different type of pitcher than we are used to seeing, so we struggled a little the first time through the lineup. We fought through it and came up with a good win."

In the circle, Alicia Cook held the Nittany Lions (26-24) scoreless, pitching her 10^th complete-game shutout of the year and 15^th of her career. Cook improves to 22-4 on the year, allowing just four hits, while striking out four.

"I think we played really well today," Cook said. "The defense played awesome behind me, which took some of the pressure off. We're excited to get a win against a good team. It was just a really good day."

Jenkins was 2-for-3 for Oregon with two stolen bases for the Ducks, improving her team-leading hit total to 77, her stolen base total to 36 and her hitting streak to seven games.

With a victory tomorrow, Oregon would automatically play in Sunday's finale, scheduled for a 10 a.m. start. With a loss tomorrow, the Ducks would have to play a must-win game scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday. The four-team bracket is double-elimination.

Quack Tracks: In Oregon's 10^th postseason appearance, the Ducks have won their opening game six times...Oregon's 43 victories this year are the most for head coach Kathy Arendsen in her five-year tenure with the program...in the 2003 Regionals, Oregon also defeated Penn State, 10-8, in the Fullerton, Calif.