Ducks Roll Past Army, 11-0

Friday, February 22

Cathedral City, CA

1:30 PM

University of Oregon

9-3

Army

4-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Army	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Oregon	4	0	1	6	X	11	8	1

02/22/19 | Softball

Box Score Box: Oregon 11, Army 0

By: Nate Krueger

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The Oregon softball team bounced back from a tough loss in a big way on Friday afternoon, run-ruling Army, 11-0, in five innings on the second day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

The No. 17 Ducks (9-3) scored four runs in the first inning and six in the fourth to back another great outing in the circle by sophomore Jordan Dail and record their second run-rule win of the season.

How it Happened: The Ducks took advantage of control issues by the Army pitching staff in the first inning, using seven total free passes to jump out to a 4-0 lead. April Utecht and Allee Bunker were both hit with the bases loaded, while Cherish Burks and Lexi Wagner both worked bases-loaded walks.

Burks made it 5-0 in the third inning, crushing a 1-0 pitch way out of the park in left field for her first home run of the season.

123246

Army threatened for the first time in the fourth against Dail, who struck out six through the first three innings. The Black Knights loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of hits and a walk, but Dail froze the next batter with a 1-2 breaking ball to keep the shutout alive.

The Ducks moved into run-rule territory with six runs on six hits in the fourth inning. Shaye Bowden brought in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly, and Haley Cruse followed with a sharp RBI single. Burks picked up her third RBI with a single up the middle after a base hit by Utecht, and Allee Bunker plated two with Oregon's fourth straight hit, a two-run double to right center. Junior walk-on capped the big inning with UO's fifth hit in a row, driving in two with a solid single into left field.

Dail worked around an error and a pair of wild pitches in the fifth to preserve the shutout, ending the game with her eighth strikeout.

At the Plate: Burks finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs and her first home run of the year to pace the offense, while Bunker and Cook recorded two RBIs each. Sievers went 2-for-2, and Bowden, Cruse, Utecht and Wagner all had an RBI. Oregon struck out just twice while drawing seven walks and nine total free passes.

In the Circle: Dail was terrific once again, striking out eight while allowing only five hits over five scoreless innings to improve to 7-0 on the season.

123247

What it Means: After struggling at the plate in a tough loss to Bethune-Cookman, the Ducks showed good patience early on to build a lead and then began to put the bat on the ball consistently in the middle innings. Dail continued to establish herself as Oregon's go-to arm with her fifth complete game of the year and second of the weekend.

Up Next: Oregon will play a doubleheader on Saturday against a pair of tough opponents in Texas A&M (9 a.m.) and No. 23 Texas Tech (12 p.m.). Both games will be streamed by FloSoftball (subscription required), and KWVA Radio will have the call for both games on 88.1 FM.