Saturday, March 11
Eugene, Ore.
3:00 PM
University of Oregon
22-0
9
vs
0
Idaho State
6-12
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Idaho State
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
Oregon
4
2
1
0
2
9
9
1
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Softball Keeps Streak Alive With Pair of Run-Rule Wins
03/11/17 | Softball
The Ducks blanked both Idaho State and Pacific in run-rule wins on Saturday at the Oregon Invitational.
Eugene, Ore. – The No. 4 Oregon Ducks secured two more run-rule wins on Saturday in the Oregon Invitational, taking down Idaho State, 9-0, and Pacific, 8-0.
The Ducks are now 23-0 on the season, the only undefeated team remaining in the NCAA.
Game 1: Idaho State managed to put two runners on base in the first inning on an error and a single, but sophomore Megan Kleist got back-to-back strikeouts. That brought the Ducks to the dish where they scored four runs in the bottom of the first. Gwen Svekis, Mia Camuso, Jenna Lilley and Sammie Puentes each recorded RBIs.
Megan Kleist struck out the side in the second inning while a pair of stolen bases from Mercado and a single up the middle from Nikki Udria made it a 5-0 game. An Idaho State error later in the second allowed the Ducks to score again and make it a 6-0 lead.
ISU reached base only once more in the last three innings, while the Ducks added three more runs for the victory. Svekis capped off the run-rule in the fifth with a two-run homer for a 9-0 victory.
Game 2: After a 95-minute rain delay, bats were quiet for both Oregon and Pacific. Miranda Elish started in the circle for Oregon and kept the Tigers guessing with eight strikeouts, all swinging, through the first three innings.
In the Ducks' half of the third, Danica Mercado drew a leadoff walk and Gwen Svekis followed with a walk of her own. Jenna Lilley hit a grounder to drive in Mercado, and Oregon took the lead 1-0.
Oregon broke open the game in the fourth by taking advantage of errors by the Tigers, following a 1-2-3 inning for Elish. The Ducks pulled off double steals twice for runs in the inning while Alexis Mack picked up a RBI on fielder's choice and another scored on an error.
Pacific once again went 1-2-3 in the fifth and Oregon scored another three runs. Miranda Elish came up to bat and knocked in a single, but advanced after an error, bringing home pinch runner Cherish Burks, and April Utecht who reached base after being hit. To close out the inning, Mercado singled up the middle and scored Sammie Puentes to run-rule the Tigers, 9-0.
In the Circle: Neither pitcher in the doubleheader walked a batter and together they totaled 20 strikeouts. Megan Kleist pitched all five innings in the first game and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts. Her previous career-high was nine. Miranda Elish also had a standout night, also allowing no runs and issuing no walks while striking out nine, a season-high for her as well.
At the Plate: Danica Mercado had a standout performance, going 6-for-7 over both games and scoring four runs. Alexis Mack stole four bases and Gwen Svekis recorded three RBIs and a home run.
Puentes' Streak: Sammie Puentes had her incredible reached base streak snapped against Idaho State. She had reached base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before taking the field on Saturday. She reached on a walk in her first plate appearance and singled in the second to make it 12 straight before recording an out later against Idaho State. The NCAA record is 18 straight, set by Florida State's Maddie O'Brien in 2014.
Quotable:
Head Coach Mike White, on strong pitching…
"Miranda is doing a great job; her ball is really breaking well, she's hitting the locations. Of course, Megan Kleist pitched extremely well this afternoon with 11 strikeouts and did the same thing. It kind of makes it easier on our defense."
Megan Kleist, on career-high strikeouts…
"I really worked on keeping the ball a lot lower than I have in the past couple games. It has been something I've been trying to work on but haven't really succeeded in. I've been working hard in practice this last week and I feel like I really succeeded in that today and it was really helpful."
Danica Mercado, on having a breakout year…
"I'm feeling really comfortable out in the field, I'm getting a lot of playing time, and I think consistently being in the rotation has allowed me to become comfortable and be able to play how I play."
The Ducks are now 23-0 on the season, the only undefeated team remaining in the NCAA.
Game 1: Idaho State managed to put two runners on base in the first inning on an error and a single, but sophomore Megan Kleist got back-to-back strikeouts. That brought the Ducks to the dish where they scored four runs in the bottom of the first. Gwen Svekis, Mia Camuso, Jenna Lilley and Sammie Puentes each recorded RBIs.
Megan Kleist struck out the side in the second inning while a pair of stolen bases from Mercado and a single up the middle from Nikki Udria made it a 5-0 game. An Idaho State error later in the second allowed the Ducks to score again and make it a 6-0 lead.
ISU reached base only once more in the last three innings, while the Ducks added three more runs for the victory. Svekis capped off the run-rule in the fifth with a two-run homer for a 9-0 victory.
Game 2: After a 95-minute rain delay, bats were quiet for both Oregon and Pacific. Miranda Elish started in the circle for Oregon and kept the Tigers guessing with eight strikeouts, all swinging, through the first three innings.
In the Ducks' half of the third, Danica Mercado drew a leadoff walk and Gwen Svekis followed with a walk of her own. Jenna Lilley hit a grounder to drive in Mercado, and Oregon took the lead 1-0.
Oregon broke open the game in the fourth by taking advantage of errors by the Tigers, following a 1-2-3 inning for Elish. The Ducks pulled off double steals twice for runs in the inning while Alexis Mack picked up a RBI on fielder's choice and another scored on an error.
Pacific once again went 1-2-3 in the fifth and Oregon scored another three runs. Miranda Elish came up to bat and knocked in a single, but advanced after an error, bringing home pinch runner Cherish Burks, and April Utecht who reached base after being hit. To close out the inning, Mercado singled up the middle and scored Sammie Puentes to run-rule the Tigers, 9-0.
In the Circle: Neither pitcher in the doubleheader walked a batter and together they totaled 20 strikeouts. Megan Kleist pitched all five innings in the first game and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts. Her previous career-high was nine. Miranda Elish also had a standout night, also allowing no runs and issuing no walks while striking out nine, a season-high for her as well.
At the Plate: Danica Mercado had a standout performance, going 6-for-7 over both games and scoring four runs. Alexis Mack stole four bases and Gwen Svekis recorded three RBIs and a home run.
Puentes' Streak: Sammie Puentes had her incredible reached base streak snapped against Idaho State. She had reached base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before taking the field on Saturday. She reached on a walk in her first plate appearance and singled in the second to make it 12 straight before recording an out later against Idaho State. The NCAA record is 18 straight, set by Florida State's Maddie O'Brien in 2014.
Quotable:
Head Coach Mike White, on strong pitching…
"Miranda is doing a great job; her ball is really breaking well, she's hitting the locations. Of course, Megan Kleist pitched extremely well this afternoon with 11 strikeouts and did the same thing. It kind of makes it easier on our defense."
Megan Kleist, on career-high strikeouts…
"I really worked on keeping the ball a lot lower than I have in the past couple games. It has been something I've been trying to work on but haven't really succeeded in. I've been working hard in practice this last week and I feel like I really succeeded in that today and it was really helpful."
Danica Mercado, on having a breakout year…
"I'm feeling really comfortable out in the field, I'm getting a lot of playing time, and I think consistently being in the rotation has allowed me to become comfortable and be able to play how I play."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kleist, Megan (8-0)
L: Ames, Ashlyn (1-6)
Base Running:
SB: Burnett, Kacie 1
Batting:
HR: Svekis, Gwen 1
RBI: Mercado, Danica 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 3 ; Udria, Nikki 1 ; Camuso, Mia 1 ; Lilley, Jenna 1 ; Puentes, Sammie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mack, Alexis 2 ; Mercado, Danica 2 ; Svekis, Gwen 2 ; Udria, Nikki 1 ; Lilley, Jenna 1 ; Lindvall, Lauren 1
SB: Mack, Alexis 1 ; Mercado, Danica 2
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
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