Thursday, February 21
Cathedral City, CA
10:00 AM
University of Oregon
8-2
3
vs
1
New Mexico State
7-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
New Mexico State
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
0
Oregon
0
0
1
1
1
0
X
3
5
0
Ducks Split First Day of Mary Nutter Classic
02/21/19 | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The Oregon softball team came away with a split in its first two games of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Thursday, beating New Mexico State to open the tournament before falling to Bethune-Cookman.
The No. 17 Ducks (8-3) got a complete-game gem from sophomore ace Jordan Dail and a go-ahead home run from sophomore catcher Shaye Bowden to take down New Mexico State, 3-1, in the first game of the day. But after a quick turnaround, Oregon fell behind early to Bethune-Cookman and the Ducks' comeback attempt came up just short in a 5-3 loss.
GAME ONE - OREGON 3, NEW MEXICO STATE 1
How it Happened: Dail retired the first six batters she faced while picking up four strikeouts before working out of trouble in the third. A walk and a single gave New Mexico State (7-3) two on with nobody out, but Dail retired the next three batters to leave two runners in scoring position and keep the game scoreless.
Oregon broke through with a run in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Lexi Wagner got things going with a single and moved to third on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, and senior April Utecht drove in the game's first run with sacrifice fly. New Mexico State answered in the fourth to tie it up, scoring a run on a wild pitch after a runner got to third on a single, hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
Bowden wasted no time putting the Ducks back in front in the bottom of the fourth, blasting a 1-0 pitch out of the park for a leadoff solo home run to give Oregon a 2-1 lead.
Dail retired the Aggies in order in the fifth, and the Ducks pushed across an insurance run for her in the bottom half. Oregon loaded the bases on walk, single and hit batter, and senior Cherish Burks plated a run with an RBI infield single.
Dail worked around a one-out single in the sixth, and Bowden erased a one-out walk in the seventh with a perfect throw to second to get a runner trying to steal. Jasmine Sievers hauled in a liner at short to end the game and secure the win for the Ducks.
In The Circle: Dail tossed seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits while striking out seven with four walks. The southpaw recorded her fourth complete game of the year for the Ducks and improved her record to a perfect 6-0.
At the Plate: Bowden delivered the big hit with her second home run of the season, and both Burks and Utecht finished 1-for-2 with an RBI. Wagner and Haley Cruse had the other two hits for the Ducks, and Rachel Cid drew two walks and scored a run.
GAME TWO - BETHUNE-COOKMAN 5, OREGON 3
How it Happened: Bethune-Cookman (4-7) took advantage of some mistakes by the Ducks to build a 5-0 lead through the first inning-and-a-half. After a single, walk and sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position to open the game, the Wildcats plated their first run on an RBI infield single and a second came around to score on an Oregon error.
Another error by the Ducks opened the second inning before a double and a walk loaded the bases, and Bethune-Cookman made it 4-0 on a two-run single. Cruse tracked down a fly ball in the gap for the second out, but another run came in to score from third to make it 5-0.
The Ducks got some good fortune of their own in the bottom of the second, using a walk and a pair of Wildcats errors to score their first run. Oregon loaded the bases with two outs, but was unable to push any more runs across.
Dail came in to relieve starter Maddie MacGrandle in the third after a single and a walk with one out, inducing a double play to keep the Ducks' deficit at four runs. Oregon's offense showed life in the fourth after a 1-2-3 top half by Dail, with freshman Allee Bunker delivering a two-run double after Bowden and Burks reached to open the inning. The Ducks put the tying runs in scoring position with two outs, but the Bethune-Cookman shortshop chased down a popup in shallow right field to end the inning and keep the Wildcats in front.
Dail kept Oregon in it with three more scoreless innings and gave the Ducks a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Sievers ripped a one-out double and Cid followed with a bunt single and a stolen base to put the tying runs in scoring position and the winning run at the plate. The Wildcats got a strikeout for the second out, and then handled a sharp grounder off the bat of Bowden to end the game and thwart Oregon's comeback attempt.
In The Circle: Dail was terrific in relief of MacGrandle (2-3), striking out four over 4.2 scoreless innings without giving up a hit. On the day, Dail racked up 11 strikeouts and allowed only one run and three hits over 11.2 total innings. MacGrandle took the loss after allowing five runs, two earned, on five hits over 2.1 innings.
At the Plate: Sievers, Cid, Bowden and Bunker accounted for Oregon's four hits, with Bunker picking up the only two RBIs for the Ducks.
What it Means: Behind another great outing from Dail, the Ducks picked up a quality win over a New Mexico State team that is receiving votes in both major polls. The bats stayed quiet in the second game, though, and miscues in the infield put Oregon in a difficult hole to climb out of against Bethune-Cookman, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago. With four games remaining in Cathedral City, the Ducks will look to get their offense rolling and get more help in the circle behind Dail.
Up Next: Oregon will be back in action on Friday at 12:30 p.m. PT against Army.
The No. 17 Ducks (8-3) got a complete-game gem from sophomore ace Jordan Dail and a go-ahead home run from sophomore catcher Shaye Bowden to take down New Mexico State, 3-1, in the first game of the day. But after a quick turnaround, Oregon fell behind early to Bethune-Cookman and the Ducks' comeback attempt came up just short in a 5-3 loss.
GAME ONE - OREGON 3, NEW MEXICO STATE 1
How it Happened: Dail retired the first six batters she faced while picking up four strikeouts before working out of trouble in the third. A walk and a single gave New Mexico State (7-3) two on with nobody out, but Dail retired the next three batters to leave two runners in scoring position and keep the game scoreless.
Oregon broke through with a run in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Lexi Wagner got things going with a single and moved to third on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, and senior April Utecht drove in the game's first run with sacrifice fly. New Mexico State answered in the fourth to tie it up, scoring a run on a wild pitch after a runner got to third on a single, hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
Bowden wasted no time putting the Ducks back in front in the bottom of the fourth, blasting a 1-0 pitch out of the park for a leadoff solo home run to give Oregon a 2-1 lead.
Dail retired the Aggies in order in the fifth, and the Ducks pushed across an insurance run for her in the bottom half. Oregon loaded the bases on walk, single and hit batter, and senior Cherish Burks plated a run with an RBI infield single.
Dail worked around a one-out single in the sixth, and Bowden erased a one-out walk in the seventh with a perfect throw to second to get a runner trying to steal. Jasmine Sievers hauled in a liner at short to end the game and secure the win for the Ducks.
In The Circle: Dail tossed seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits while striking out seven with four walks. The southpaw recorded her fourth complete game of the year for the Ducks and improved her record to a perfect 6-0.
At the Plate: Bowden delivered the big hit with her second home run of the season, and both Burks and Utecht finished 1-for-2 with an RBI. Wagner and Haley Cruse had the other two hits for the Ducks, and Rachel Cid drew two walks and scored a run.
GAME TWO - BETHUNE-COOKMAN 5, OREGON 3
How it Happened: Bethune-Cookman (4-7) took advantage of some mistakes by the Ducks to build a 5-0 lead through the first inning-and-a-half. After a single, walk and sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position to open the game, the Wildcats plated their first run on an RBI infield single and a second came around to score on an Oregon error.
Another error by the Ducks opened the second inning before a double and a walk loaded the bases, and Bethune-Cookman made it 4-0 on a two-run single. Cruse tracked down a fly ball in the gap for the second out, but another run came in to score from third to make it 5-0.
The Ducks got some good fortune of their own in the bottom of the second, using a walk and a pair of Wildcats errors to score their first run. Oregon loaded the bases with two outs, but was unable to push any more runs across.
Dail came in to relieve starter Maddie MacGrandle in the third after a single and a walk with one out, inducing a double play to keep the Ducks' deficit at four runs. Oregon's offense showed life in the fourth after a 1-2-3 top half by Dail, with freshman Allee Bunker delivering a two-run double after Bowden and Burks reached to open the inning. The Ducks put the tying runs in scoring position with two outs, but the Bethune-Cookman shortshop chased down a popup in shallow right field to end the inning and keep the Wildcats in front.
Dail kept Oregon in it with three more scoreless innings and gave the Ducks a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Sievers ripped a one-out double and Cid followed with a bunt single and a stolen base to put the tying runs in scoring position and the winning run at the plate. The Wildcats got a strikeout for the second out, and then handled a sharp grounder off the bat of Bowden to end the game and thwart Oregon's comeback attempt.
In The Circle: Dail was terrific in relief of MacGrandle (2-3), striking out four over 4.2 scoreless innings without giving up a hit. On the day, Dail racked up 11 strikeouts and allowed only one run and three hits over 11.2 total innings. MacGrandle took the loss after allowing five runs, two earned, on five hits over 2.1 innings.
At the Plate: Sievers, Cid, Bowden and Bunker accounted for Oregon's four hits, with Bunker picking up the only two RBIs for the Ducks.
What it Means: Behind another great outing from Dail, the Ducks picked up a quality win over a New Mexico State team that is receiving votes in both major polls. The bats stayed quiet in the second game, though, and miscues in the infield put Oregon in a difficult hole to climb out of against Bethune-Cookman, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago. With four games remaining in Cathedral City, the Ducks will look to get their offense rolling and get more help in the circle behind Dail.
Up Next: Oregon will be back in action on Friday at 12:30 p.m. PT against Army.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dail, Jordan (6-0)
L: Green, Kayla (4-0)
Base Running:
RUNS: Felder, Mya 1
SB: Felder, Mya 1 ; Butler, Nikki 1
CS: Mejia, Sarai 1
HBP: Butler, Nikki 1
Batting:
HR: Bowden, Shaye 1
RBI: Utecht, April 1 ; Bowden, Shaye 1 ; Burks, Cherish 1
SH: Cruse, Haley 1
SF: Utecht, April 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cid, Rachel 1 ; Bowden, Shaye 1 ; Wagner, Lexi 1
HBP: Bunker, Allee 1 ; Williams, Jasmine 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballC/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
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