No. 4 Huskies Nip Ducks, 2-0

Friday, April 17

Eugene, Ore.

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

13-24, 2-8

Washington

32-7, 5-4

Washington

OREGON

04/18/09 | Softball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

* A boxscore and play-by-play is located in the LINKS box to the right, and updated season/career stats are available via the link above.

EUGENE - The No. 4 Washington softball team took advantage of a pair of home runs to top Oregon, 2-0, in their weekend opener Friday afternoon at Howe Field.

Husky All-America junior and Canadian Olympian Danielle Lawrie (23-4) struck out 11, walked one and allowed only two hits in her complete game over the Ducks.

For UO (13-24, 2-8), freshman Samantha Skillingstad (10-9) pitched the first 4 2/3 innings, struck out two, walked one, allowed seven hits, and both of her runs allowed were earned.

“I walk out on the field knowing I'm going to challenge the batters with every pitch, no matter who they are,” Skillingstad said. “I missed two pitches, and they hit them well. Looking back, it's a good learning experience for me to go against a top pitcher, to learn how she throws and what her reactions are to different situations.”

After it stranded six runners in the first three innings, UW got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning on a home run by All-America leadoff hitter Ashley Charters, then added another roundtripper three batters later by Lawrie.

After another batter followed with a single, senior Melissa Rice came into the game in relief and got a comebacke ground-out to end the inning. Rice pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, struck out one, walked one, allowed one hit and no runs in one of her best performances of the season.

UO's best chance to score came in the sixth when junior Carlyn Re led off the inning with a single to left field. Junior pinch-runner Shelley Deadmond advanced to second on a bunt by freshman Lindsey Chambers, and was safe on a throwing error by the first baseman on the throw to second base, giving UO two runners on with no outs.

After a strikeout by junior Hannah Barril, senior Sari-Jane Jenkins advanced the runners to second and third with a groundout to the second baseman, but a similar groundout by sophomore Cortney Kivett ended the inning.

At the plate for UO, junior Neena Bryant garnered the Ducks' other hit to open the seventh inning, a lined grounder through the left side of the infield. Jenkins also reached for Oregon with a walk in the bottom of the first ? the 65th of her career which moved her into a tie for ninth all-time for the Ducks (and two behind the eighth-best mark).

Offensively for UW (32-7, 5-4), the first five hitters in the lineup hit safely, including Charters who had a season-high three hits (3-for-3), and also walked. Her homer was her seventh of the year, and Lawrie's was her third of '09.

With their runs in the fifth, the Huskies ended their scoring frustration in Pac-10 road contests ? including a 40-inning scoreless streak that had started in the fourth in a 9-1 five-inning loss at Cal in late March, and was followed by 1-0 and 2-0 losses in 18 innings in a pair of games at then-No. 3 Stanford, and a 16-inning two-game stretch at then-No. 4 UCLA last weekend when they collected only one hit.

UW challenged for more runs in the sixth but right fielder Blair Williamson raced in and made a diving catch for the first out of the inning. After a pinch-hit single followed, Rice turned a 1-6-3 double play on a one-hopper back to the mound.

In the first inning, UW's Charters and Kimi Pohlman singled to open the game, but the former baserunner was erased on the first of two caught stealing throws by sophomore catcher Ashley Kivett who matched her prior season total Friday. After a groundball error by the second baseman put a second runner on, Skillingstad struck out Lawrie swinging, and got a grounder to third base to end the inning.

The Huskies also threatened to score in the second inning with runners on second and third base with one out. However, shortstop Lindsey Chambers fielded a grounder and her throw home narrowly got the lead runner for the second out. Skillingstad walked Charters to load the bases, then got a fly ball out to Williamson in right to end the inning.

“The runs they got on us were both solo home runs, and we made the plays defensively when they really mattered,” Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. “We got our offense started too late, and that's on us. I give a lot of credit to Danielle Lawrie - she showed us why she is an All-American and arguably the best pitcher in the country. What we do now is focus on our growth - we did a good job of not getting down - and I'm proud of that. As the scoreboard shows we battled to the end.”

Looking ahead, UO remains at home to host No. 3 UCLA Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19 at 1 p.m. and noon, respectively.

Saturday's game is a ?Take a Kid to the Game” day. Fans that buy a regular price adult general admission (G.A.) ticket, can get a child G.A. ticket for only $1. All kids also receive sharpie markers to get autographs after the game, and the field is open to run the bases afterwards.

Sunday's game is a ?Crowd Howe' day to help support the environment, with the price of each ticket donated to the Eugene Tree Foundation.

LINESCORE

Washington 2, OREGON 0 (Apr 17, 2009 at Eugene, Ore.)
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Washington.......... 000 020 0 - 2 9 1 (32-7, 5-4 Pac-10)
OREGON.............. 000 000 0 - 0 2 4 (13-24, 2-8 Pac-10)
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Pitchers: Washington - Lawrie, Danielle and Blake, Alicia. OREGON - Skillingstad, Sam;
Rice, Melissa(5) and Kivett, Ashley.
Win-Lawrie, Danielle(23-4) Loss-Skillingstad, Sam(10-9) T-2:04 A-300
HR WASH - Charters, Ashley (7); Lawrie, Danielle (3).

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