Saturday, April 27
Eugene, OR
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
21-24, 0
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Oregon State
23-18, 0
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Oregon State
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Oregon
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Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Miscues Haunt Ducks In Defeat
04/27/19 | Softball
Oregon stranded 11 runners on base and allowed three unearned runs in an 8-6 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night.
EUGENE, Ore. — Early missed opportunities haunted the Oregon softball team in a loss Saturday to Oregon State, 8-6 before 2,481 fans in Jane Sanders Stadium.
The Ducks (21-24) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but ultimately didn't get enough offense after stranding 10 runners on base over the first six innings. Oregon came into the Civil War series looking to keep alive its hopes of a postseason berth, and now will try to salvage a game in the series in the finale Sunday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
"Everyday is a must-win for us,"UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "They got the series; I don't want them to get the sweep. It's about pride for us tomorrow.
How It Happened: UO starter Jordan Dail took the loss for the second day in a row, allowing a two-run homer in the first, an unearned run in the fourth and a three-run home run in the fifth. Three of the eight runs off UO pitching were unearned, due to rare defensive lapses by the Ducks.
"Whoever's on the mound, if we have the ability to make plays behind them we need to make those plays," Lombardi said. "We didn't do that at times, and we extended the inning when we should have been out of the inning.
Oregon stranded two runners in each of the first two innings, before breaking through in the third when April Utecht singled home Jasmine Sievers and Hannah Galey worked a two-out walk with the bases loaded. That tied the score 2-2, but OSU went up 3-2 in the fourth and 6-2 in the fifth.
The Ducks mounted a two-out rally in the fifth, when senior Cherish Burks singled with two out, stole second and reached third on an error. Galey followed with a ground ball the OSU infield couldn't handle cleanly, and Burks scored on the error.
Two unearned runs off UO reliever Kailey Krueger put OSU up 8-3 in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Cruse led off with a walk and reached third on a stolen base and an error, still with nobody out. But she was stranded there as well.
"I think we've been really good at making in-game adjustments," Cruse said. "We just need to start making those adjustments sooner. … We need to figure out how to cash in earlier in the game."
Oregon provided some drama in the seventh, when Utecht made it 8-5 on an opposite-field homer over the scoreboard in right field. Burks walked and Galey singled to put two on with one out, and the Ducks made it 8-6 on an RBI ground out by Lexi Wagner and a run-scoring double by Cruse. But the rally, and the game, went no further.
At The Plate: Cruse, Sievers and Utecht each had two hits, with Utecht blasting her team-leading ninth home run of the year. Utecht also walked for the 30th time, which ranks second in the Pac-12. Sievers' 11th multi-hit game of the year included her 14th double, tied for seventh in UO single-season history.
Allee Bunker saw her hitting streak end at nine games, and Shaye Bowden saw hers end at seven. Bunker did reach on a fielder's choice in the fourth and stole second, her sixth steal of the season, second-most on the team.
In The Circle: Dail allowed six runs — five earned — on eight hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts. Freshman third baseman Rachel Cid relieved Krueger in the sixth and got the final five outs.
Dail threw 104 pitches, 54 for strikes. She's now alone in ninth in UO single-season history with 215 strikeouts. "Before the game I thought she looked pretty good," Lombardi said. "You could still see she was struggling a little bit with her command. There were spots I thought she pitched better, and spots where she struggled."
Up Next: The Ducks and Beavers meet in the series finale Sunday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
The Ducks (21-24) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but ultimately didn't get enough offense after stranding 10 runners on base over the first six innings. Oregon came into the Civil War series looking to keep alive its hopes of a postseason berth, and now will try to salvage a game in the series in the finale Sunday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
"Everyday is a must-win for us,"UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "They got the series; I don't want them to get the sweep. It's about pride for us tomorrow.
How It Happened: UO starter Jordan Dail took the loss for the second day in a row, allowing a two-run homer in the first, an unearned run in the fourth and a three-run home run in the fifth. Three of the eight runs off UO pitching were unearned, due to rare defensive lapses by the Ducks.
"Whoever's on the mound, if we have the ability to make plays behind them we need to make those plays," Lombardi said. "We didn't do that at times, and we extended the inning when we should have been out of the inning.
Oregon stranded two runners in each of the first two innings, before breaking through in the third when April Utecht singled home Jasmine Sievers and Hannah Galey worked a two-out walk with the bases loaded. That tied the score 2-2, but OSU went up 3-2 in the fourth and 6-2 in the fifth.
The Ducks mounted a two-out rally in the fifth, when senior Cherish Burks singled with two out, stole second and reached third on an error. Galey followed with a ground ball the OSU infield couldn't handle cleanly, and Burks scored on the error.
Two unearned runs off UO reliever Kailey Krueger put OSU up 8-3 in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Cruse led off with a walk and reached third on a stolen base and an error, still with nobody out. But she was stranded there as well.
"I think we've been really good at making in-game adjustments," Cruse said. "We just need to start making those adjustments sooner. … We need to figure out how to cash in earlier in the game."
Oregon provided some drama in the seventh, when Utecht made it 8-5 on an opposite-field homer over the scoreboard in right field. Burks walked and Galey singled to put two on with one out, and the Ducks made it 8-6 on an RBI ground out by Lexi Wagner and a run-scoring double by Cruse. But the rally, and the game, went no further.
At The Plate: Cruse, Sievers and Utecht each had two hits, with Utecht blasting her team-leading ninth home run of the year. Utecht also walked for the 30th time, which ranks second in the Pac-12. Sievers' 11th multi-hit game of the year included her 14th double, tied for seventh in UO single-season history.
Allee Bunker saw her hitting streak end at nine games, and Shaye Bowden saw hers end at seven. Bunker did reach on a fielder's choice in the fourth and stole second, her sixth steal of the season, second-most on the team.
In The Circle: Dail allowed six runs — five earned — on eight hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts. Freshman third baseman Rachel Cid relieved Krueger in the sixth and got the final five outs.
Dail threw 104 pitches, 54 for strikes. She's now alone in ninth in UO single-season history with 215 strikeouts. "Before the game I thought she looked pretty good," Lombardi said. "You could still see she was struggling a little bit with her command. There were spots I thought she pitched better, and spots where she struggled."
Up Next: The Ducks and Beavers meet in the series finale Sunday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mazon, M. (14-12)
L: Dail, Jordan (17-12)
Batting:
2B: Weeks, S. 1 ; Rader, M. 1
HR: Ybarra, C. 1 ; Owen, I. 1
RBI: Ybarra, C. 2 ; Nunes, M. 1 ; Sass, M. 1 ; Owen, I. 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Weeks, S. 1 ; Garcia, J. 1 ; Ybarra, C. 1 ; Lopez, L. 1 ; Nunes, M. 2 ; Owen, I. 1 ; Rader, M. 1
SB: Weeks, S. 1 ; Rader, M. 1
HBP: Hammoude, F. 2 ; Nunes, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Cruse, Haley 1 ; Williams, Jasmine 1
HR: Utecht, April 1
RBI: Cruse, Haley 1 ; Utecht, April 2 ; Galey, Hannah 1 ; Wagner, Lexi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Jasmine 1 ; Cid, Rachel 1 ; Utecht, April 1 ; Burks, Cherish 2 ; Galey, Hannah 1
SB: Cruse, Haley 1 ; Bunker, Allee 1 ; Burks, Cherish 1 ; Galey, Hannah 1
HBP: Cid, Rachel 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
1b/c
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballC/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
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