No. 1 Huskies Edge No. 17 Ducks, 1-0, in Series Finale

Sunday, April 18

Eugene, Ore.

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

30-8, 6-3

Washington

35-4, 7-2

Washington

Oregon

No. 1 Huskies Edge No. 17 Ducks, 1-0, in Series Finale

04/18/10 | Softball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

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

EUGENE - The No. 17 University of Oregon softball team (30-8, 6-3) gave Duck fans another hard-fought performance to be proud of Sunday afternoon against No. 1 Washington (35-4, 7-2) before falling 1-0 at Howe Field.

The returning national champion Huskies scored their only run on a passed ball in the sixth inning to sour an otherwise impressive pitching performance by Duck freshman Jessica Moore (13-4).

In her 5.1 innings of work, the Sutter, Calif., native struck out eight, walked one, scattered five hits, and allowed no earned runs in a start for the seventh time in 2010. She also moved into a tie for seventh all-time among UO pitchers for most strikeouts in a season (168).

Her Husky counterpart, returning national player of the year and senior Danielle Lawrie (25-2), struck out 12, walked one, and gave up two hits in her 25th complete game of 2010.

At the plate for Oregon, freshman left fielder Allie Burger banged out both Duck hits to left field in the first and sixth innings.

Senior center fielder Neena Bryant also reached base with a first-inning walk to cap an impressive weekend in which she led the team in hitting (.429, 3-for-7, 1 home run, 1 RBI). On the all-time UO career charts this weekend, the two-time All-Pac-10 Second-Team pick moved into a tie for third in RBI (136), and alone into seventh in hits (200).

After losing 4-0 to Oregon Saturday, last year's Women's College World Series most outstanding player Lawrie was back in top form as no Duck batter reached second base.

In contrast, Washington left runners on base in six different innings as six different Huskies collected hits and another walked.

However, it wasn't until the sixth inning when UW broke the 0-0 deadlock to avoid their first pair of back-to-back losses this season.

The Huskies' leading hitter coming into the seriess, Jenn Salling led off the inning by reaching on an error by the shortstop. The next batter Lawrie hit a hard come-backer up the middle which tipped off the pitcher Moore's glove and trickled into left field to put runners on second and third base.

After a strikeout, Salling scampered home with one out on a passed ball, and a subsequent walk to the same batter led Duck head coach Mike White to bring in sophomore reliever Mikayla Endicott.

Facing runners on first and third, the Roseburg, Ore. native again rose to the occasion and struck out two batters to end the inning. The latter was particularly dramatic after she jumped out to an 0-2 count, followed with three straight balls, then got the 'K' looking.

Endicott added her third strikeout in the seventh, and overall pitched 1.2 innings, walked none, and gave up one hit. Sunday marked the eighth time in her 11 relief appearances in 2010 in which she has not given up a run.

Friday's series opener was also a nailbiter as sophomore Kelsey Chambers' two-run homer off Lawrie gave UW a slim 3-2 lead going into the seventh before defensive mental miscues aided a six-run Husky seventh inning in the 9-2 decision.

Regardless of Sunday's outcome, UO could take satisfaction from staking at least one win vs. UW in six of the last eight years. Oregon even took the series, 2-1, in 2003 and '04 when White served as the assistant coach in charge of Duck pitchers and catchers.

In turn for UO's inspired play, the Howe Field faithful showed their support as another crowd of 800 showed their support for the Ducks who still stood second in the Pac-10 with a 6-3 mark (even though they were the seventh-ranked of seven, top-20 league teams sighted in this week's polls).

Oregon's other Pac-10 wins in '10 came via its first-ever sweep of then-No. 13 California at home last weekend and a 2-1 series advantage the week before at Oregon State.

Looking ahead, No. 17 UO heads to No. 6 Arizona State (35-9, 4-5) for 7 p.m. games Friday and Saturday, April 23-24 and a noon finale Sunday, April 25. The national champion two years ago, the Sun Devils were swept at home this weekend by No. 16 California by 3-1, 8-0 and 11-3 scores, respectively.

LINESCORE

#1 Washington 1, #17 Oregon 0 (Apr 18, 2010 at Eugene, Ore.)
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Washington.......... 000 001 0 - 1 6 0 (35-4, 7-2 Pac-10)
Oregon.............. 000 000 0 - 0 2 1 (30-8, 6-3 Pac-10)
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Pitchers: Washington - Lawrie, Danielle and Wright,Shawna. Oregon - Moore, Jessica; Endicott, Mikayla(6) and Vitek, Kaitlin. Win-Lawrie, Danielle(25-2) Loss-Moore, Jessica(13-4) T-1:45 A-800. Weather: 65, sunny, wind 0-3 mph

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