University of Oregon
15-3
Florida State
12-6
Elish Throws Another Gem as No. 6 Ducks Beat No. 13 FSU
03/02/18 | Softball
Miranda Elish threw her sixth complete-game shutout of the season to lead No. 6 Oregon to a 5-0 win over No. 13 Florida State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Sophomore Miranda Elish threw her sixth complete-game shutout of the season on Friday afternoon to lead the No. 6 ranked Oregon softball team to a 5-0 win over No. 13 Florida State in the Ducks' first game of the Unconquered Invitational at JoAnne Graf Field.
The Ducks (15-3) recorded their fifth straight win and fourth of the season against a top-25 ranked team, and will have a short break as they get set to face Florida Gulf Coast (2:30 p.m. PT) in their second doubleheader in as many games.
How it Happened: After allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first, Elish (7-0) kept Florida State (12-6) hitless the rest of the way. The sophomore buckled down after the two hits to retire the next 12 batters she faced, and that streak only ended because of a UO error.
Elish struck out eight while allowing just two walks, with both coming in the seventh inning before a strikeout and a line drive to right field secured the Oregon win and preserved Elish's shutout.
The Ducks used the long ball to open the scoring in the top of the second inning and jump out to a 3-0 lead. Senior and Florida native Gwen Svekis opened the inning with a solo home run to left field against FSU pitcher, and her longtime friend, Meghan King. After a walk prompted a pitching change, freshman Mary Iakopo blasted a two-run shot off the left field foul pole for the first homer of her collegiate career.
Svekis picked up another RBI in the third to extend Oregon's lead to 4-0, hitting a sacrifice fly to left after the Ducks opened the frame with back-to-back walks. Senior shortstop DJ Sanders made it 5-0 in the sixth with an RBI single to score Mia Camuso, who doubled down the right-field line to open the inning.
In the Circle: Elish improved to 7-0 this season and dropped her ERA down to a minuscule 0.16, and she remains perfect in her collegiate career at 19-0. In 10 appearances this season (seven starts), Elish has 58 strikeouts with just seven walks while allowing only one earned run over 44 innings.
At the Plate: Svekis moved into a tie with Sanders for the team home run lead with seven after taking King, her high school teammate, deep for the second year in a row. Svekis finished with two RBIs to lead the Ducks along with Iakopo, who recorded her first homer as a Duck. Sanders and Alexis Mack each had two hits, and Sanders had one RBI.
Up Next: Oregon will face Florida Gulf Coast at 2:30 p.m. PT at JoAnne Graf Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Elish, Miranda (7-0)
L: King, M. (6-3)
Batting:
2B: Camuso, Mia 1
HR: Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 1
RBI: Svekis, Gwen 2 ; Sanders, DJ 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 2
SH: Lilley, Jenna 1
SF: Svekis, Gwen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lilley, Jenna 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Camuso, Mia 2 ; Iakopo, Mary 1
SB: Mack, Alexis 1
CS: Burks, Cherish 1
