Friday, March 17
Eugene, Ore.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
25-0, 0
5
vs
1
California
17-6, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
California
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
7
2
Oregon
0
2
2
0
1
0
X
5
6
1
Ducks Beat Cal to Open Pac-12 Play
03/17/17 | Softball
FRESHMAN MAGGIE BALINT (12-0) TURNED IN ANOTHER SOLID OUTING IN THE CIRCLE TO LEAD THE DUCKS TO A 5-1 WIN OVER CAL IN PAC-12 OPENER
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 3 ranked Oregon softball team opened Pac-12 play with a 5-1 win over No. 23 California to remain undefeated on Friday night at Jane Sanders Stadium.
The Ducks (25-0, 1-0) remain the only unbeaten team in the nation.
How it Happened: Freshman Maggie Balint (12-0) took the circle for Oregon to kick off conference play and turned in yet another terrific outing to keep the Ducks perfect to start the season.
The Golden Bears (17-6, 0-1) loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning on two hits and an error, but Balint was able to limit the damage to only one run on a sac-fly, escaping the jam with a strikeout.
The Ducks answered back in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good. Mia Camuso opened the frame with a single and advanced to third after double down the right-field line by Shannon Rhodes, and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Lindvall. Leadoff hitter Alexis Mack then put the Ducks ahead, 2-1, by legging out an infield single with two outs to allow Rhodes to score.
Jenna Lilley provided a defensive highlight in the third inning to erase any California threat, snaring a sharp liner at third and firing a strike over to first to double up the runner and close the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Lilley hit into a bases-loaded double play with no outs to score a run for the Ducks. Gwen Svekis then game in to score from third on a balk call to make it 4-1, Oregon.
Cal threatened in the fifth with a leadoff double, but a pair of goundouts to Lilley and a strikeout from Balint kept them at bay. Svekis put the punctuation mark on the win with a solo home run in the bottom half of the fifth, her fourth of the season, to extend Oregon's lead to 5-1.
Quotable: Head Coach Mike White
On winning their conference opener…
"This is another half of the season, and right now we are 1-0, so that is the way we're looking at it. It wasn't our cleanest game, but Maggie came through in some tough situations and we played some good defense. We didn't let the mistakes roll over and get big innings."
Maggie Balint, Freshman Pitcher
On getting the start in Pac-12 play…
"It's pretty exciting. I'm really excited that Coach White put me out there the first time. The nerves come because it is better competition, but my team was awesome and supportive and I'm excited for the rest of this weekend."
Up Next: The Ducks face Cal on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT for game two of the three-game series.
The Ducks (25-0, 1-0) remain the only unbeaten team in the nation.
How it Happened: Freshman Maggie Balint (12-0) took the circle for Oregon to kick off conference play and turned in yet another terrific outing to keep the Ducks perfect to start the season.
The Golden Bears (17-6, 0-1) loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning on two hits and an error, but Balint was able to limit the damage to only one run on a sac-fly, escaping the jam with a strikeout.
The Ducks answered back in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good. Mia Camuso opened the frame with a single and advanced to third after double down the right-field line by Shannon Rhodes, and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Lindvall. Leadoff hitter Alexis Mack then put the Ducks ahead, 2-1, by legging out an infield single with two outs to allow Rhodes to score.
Jenna Lilley provided a defensive highlight in the third inning to erase any California threat, snaring a sharp liner at third and firing a strike over to first to double up the runner and close the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Lilley hit into a bases-loaded double play with no outs to score a run for the Ducks. Gwen Svekis then game in to score from third on a balk call to make it 4-1, Oregon.
Cal threatened in the fifth with a leadoff double, but a pair of goundouts to Lilley and a strikeout from Balint kept them at bay. Svekis put the punctuation mark on the win with a solo home run in the bottom half of the fifth, her fourth of the season, to extend Oregon's lead to 5-1.
Quotable: Head Coach Mike White
On winning their conference opener…
"This is another half of the season, and right now we are 1-0, so that is the way we're looking at it. It wasn't our cleanest game, but Maggie came through in some tough situations and we played some good defense. We didn't let the mistakes roll over and get big innings."
Maggie Balint, Freshman Pitcher
On getting the start in Pac-12 play…
"It's pretty exciting. I'm really excited that Coach White put me out there the first time. The nerves come because it is better competition, but my team was awesome and supportive and I'm excited for the rest of this weekend."
Up Next: The Ducks face Cal on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT for game two of the three-game series.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Balint, Maggie (12-0)
L: Conley,Z (8-5)
Batting:
2B: Fillmore,B 1
RBI: Laxamana,A 1
SH: Aldrete,A 1
SF: Laxamana,A 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pettis,K 1
Batting:
2B: Rhodes, Shannon 1
HR: Svekis, Gwen 1
RBI: Mack, Alexis 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Lindvall, Lauren 1
SF: Lindvall, Lauren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mercado, Danica 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 2 ; Camuso, Mia 1 ; Rhodes, Shannon 1
CS: Mack, Alexis 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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