Ducks Can't Hold Early Lead in Series Opener
03/29/19 | Softball
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How it Happened: The Ducks (12-17, 0-7 Pac-12) jumped on Stanford starter Carolyn Lee in the opening frame, loading the bases on a leadoff single by Haley Cruse and a pair of walks. Bunker came to the plate with two outs and crushed an 0-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a grand slam and the first home run of her career.
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Oregon starter Jordan Dail worked out of jams in the first two innings to keep the Cardinal off the board, but Stanford took advantage of a pair of walks in the third inning with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to put two runs on the board. Stanford added another run in the fourth on a solo homer to make it a one-run game, 4-3.
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Freshman Jasmine Sievers got a run back for the Ducks in the top of the fifth, blasting a solo home run to left field for her third long ball of the season. But the Cardinal (24-4, 3-0 Pac-12) loaded the bases in the bottom half on a pair of walks and a double, and then tied the game on a walk and a hit batter. Stanford scored three more on a pair of singles to cap the five-run frame and take an 8-5 lead.
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Freshman Rachel Cid blasted a solo home run in the top of the sixth to get Oregon back within two, but a couple nice defensive plays by the Cardinal helped keep the Ducks off the bases the rest of the way as Stanford opened the series with a win.
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At the Plate: Bunker finished 2-for-3 with her first career grand slam and a season-high four RBIs to lead the offense. Sievers was 1-for-3 with a home run, and Cid moved into a tie with April Utecht for the team lead with her fifth homer of the season. Cruse went 2-for-4 in her return to the leadoff spot and Utecht finished 1-for-2.
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In the Circle: Dail struck out seven over 5.2 innings while surrendering four runs with five walks. Maddie MacGrandle (2-6), who came in after the leadoff walk in the sixth and then turned things back over to Dail after hitting a batter to bring in a run and tie the game, took the loss after giving up four runs in 0.1 innings.
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Up Next: Oregon and Stanford will meet in game two of the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be live streamed by Stanford and KWVA will have the radio call at 88.1 FM.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lee, Carolyn (8-2)
L: MacGrandle, Maddie (2-6)
S: Pancino, Kiana (6)

Batting:
HR: Williams, Jasmine 1 ; Bunker, Allee 1 ; Cid, Rachel 1
RBI: Williams, Jasmine 1 ; Bunker, Allee 4 ; Cid, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burks, Cherish 1 ; Williams, Jasmine 1 ; Utecht, April 1 ; Bowden, Shaye 1 ; Bunker, Allee 1 ; Cid, Rachel 1
SB: Burks, Cherish 1

Batting:
2B: Burks, Whitney 1 ; Young, Emily 1
HR: Cowles, Teaghan 1
RBI: Cowles, Teaghan 2 ; Klingaman, Emily 2 ; Howell, Hannah 1 ; Young, Emily 1 ; Schultz, Emily 1 ; Cressey, Kate 1
SF: Young, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cowles, Teaghan 1 ; Klingaman, Emily 1 ; Dixon, Montana 1 ; Burks, Whitney 1 ; Howell, Hannah 1 ; Young, Emily 1 ; Schultz, Emily 1 ; Horeczko, Alyssa 1
HBP: Inouye, Kristina 1 ; Dixon, Montana 1 ; Cressey, Kate 1















