University of Oregon
1-0
Cal Poly
1-1
Ducks Corral Mustangs in Season Opener
02/06/15 | Softball
TEMPE, Ariz. – All Oregon needed was the pair of runs Jenna Lilley plated in the first inning, but the Ducks spotted six more runs to defeat Cal Poly, 8-0, in their season opener at the Kajikawa Classic Friday afternoon.
How It Happened: Lilley collected her first-career RBIs in the top of the first after she smacked a ball up the middle scoring Alyssa Gillespie and Hailey Decker.
The very next inning Janie Takeda batted in Nikki Udria with a single up the middle to make it 3-0. Gillespie plated another run the very next at bat when she hit a soft grounder to first that was just slow enough to allow Koral Costa to score from third.
After a single from Danica Mercado, Takeda laced a double to left center. The Mustang's left fielder however couldn't get a handle on the ball which allowed Mercado to score and give UO the 5-0 lead after four innings.
The Ducks tacked on another three runs in the top of the seventh and sealed the 8-0 victory.
Opening day pitcher Karissa Hovinga tossed a solid four innings, giving up just four hits and no runs. Geri Ann Glasco also made her first appearance in the circle for Oregon and gave up just one hit in three innings of work with a pair of punch outs.
First Timers: A total of six Ducks made their debut wearing the Green and Yellow in today's season opener. Freshmen Gwen Svekis and Lilley also notched their first-career hit today.
Odds and Ends: The Ducks avenged last year's season opening loss to Cal Poly with today's dominating win. UO rattled off 15-straight wins last season after dropping its first game to the Mustangs last season.
Quotables: "I thought it was a solid start. It was great to see Jenna, our freshman, get the first RBI of the season for us. Karissa did a great job keeping their team off balance with her off speed pitches and when Geri came in she did a great job as well in her first appearance as Duck. We did a good job scoring and getting up early, which allowed quite a bit of players to get in." -- UO head coach Mike White
Up Next: The Ducks will have a few hours off before wrapping up the first day of Kajikawa Classic against No. 25 Texas at 6:30 p.m. (PST).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hovinga, Karissa (1-0)
L: Chalmers (0-1)
S: Glasco, Geri Ann (1)
Batting:
2B: Takeda, Janie 1 ; Lilley, Jenna 1 ; Glasco, Geri Ann 1
RBI: Takeda, Janie 1 ; Gillespie, Alyssa 1 ; Lilley, Jenna 2 ; Smithson-Willett, Jasmine 1 ; Lindvall, Lauren 1 ; Mercado, Danica 1
SH: Mercado, Danica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Decker, Hailey 2 ; Lindvall, Janelle 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Smithson-Willett, Jasmine 1 ; Udria, Nikki 1 ; Costa, Koral 1 ; Mercado, Danica 1
SB: Mercado, Danica 1
CS: Udria, Nikki 1
Batting:
2B: Hyland 1
Base Running:
HBP: Tyler 1
