Sunday, March 19
Eugene, OR
12:00 PM
University of Oregon
19-8, 0
2
vs
3
Stanford
24-3, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Stanford
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
3
9
1
Oregon
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
7
2
Photo by: Molly McPherson
No. 7 Cardinal Edge Ducks In Rubber Match
03/19/23 | Softball
Stanford rallied for a 3-2 victory Sunday to win the series at Jane Sanders Stadium.
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon struck first but No. 7 Stanford rallied to win Sunday's rubber match in their three-game Pac-12 softball series, 3-2, before 1,580 fans at Jane Sanders Stadium.
The No. 20 Ducks (19-8, 2-4 Pac-12) saw their leadoff batter reach in five straight innings beginning with the second, but they brought just two of those runners around. A 2-0 lead through four innings became a 2-2 tie when the Cardinal broke through in the fifth, and Stanford scored the game- and series-winning run in the sixth.
"We had opportunities; we had missed opportunities," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "And I think that's the difference. … So it's about not missing those opportunities moving forward."
Stanford needed extra innings to win Friday's series opener, before the Ducks won 2-1 on Saturday behind Morgan Scott's gem in the circle. Oregon faces another potential thriller of a series when the Ducks face their third straight top-10 opponent, UCLA, beginning Friday at The Jane.
"Stanford's a really good team and every inning was a back-and-forth battle," UO senior Ariel Carlson said. "And I think it really showed us what we're capable of. We were so close with them — and we're tired of being so close. So we can just use that as motivation to come out next weekend and take one."
How It Happened: After Stevie Hansen worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second, Oregon's offense struck the first blow. Carlson and Hanna Delgado singled to open the bottom of the second, and with one out Vallery Wong's flare into left field scored Carlson.
Ironically, several balls the Ducks hit much harder didn't fall in. Carlson crushed a high drive to left with one on in the third, but it was caught at the wall to end the inning. After Delgado tripled to lead off the fourth, Tehya Bird's two-out infield single scored her for a 2-0 lead — but that came between sharp line drives by Wong to second base and Paige Sinicki back to the pitcher that were snared for outs.
"Ariel's ball goes out, we're sitting here and things look a little different," Lombardi said. "Some balls that we hit right at people, those fall, things look a little different."
The inability to add on allowed Stanford to tie it in the fifth. A one-out triple followed by a wild pitch made it 2-1, and brought Raegan Breedlove out of the UO bullpen. A double and a single tied the game, before Allee Bunker turned a double play to end the rally.
The Cardinal took the lead in the sixth. With two out and runners on the corners, a single into right made it 3-2, although Wong threw out the other baserunner trying to take third. Delgado then led off the bottom of the sixth with a hit and reached second with one out, but another inning ended with a fly ball caught at the left-field wall, this time off the bat of Bird.
Notable: Scott made her third appearance of the series, pitching a scoreless seventh inning before the Ducks were retired in order to end the game. … The Ducks are now 3-5 in games against top-10 teams this season. … Oregon lost a one-run game for the first time this season, moving to 4-1 this spring.
Quotable:
UO junior Hanna Delgado on the team's mentality moving forward
"As a team, we do a really good job of putting it behind us and moving on. I think our mindsets are, flush it and let's get to the next game. We always come into every game, into every day, with a new attitude and a positive attitude — the energy is always there. So I think that's how we bounce back from something like this."
UO coach Melyssa Lombardi on takeaways from the Stanford series
"We want to be on the other side of it. But also, we know that any time we have something that doesn't go our way, something good comes out of it. And I know that will happen as well. So, I don't think we change anything. We just keep battling and going after it. We know what we want to do."
Up Next: The Ducks open a three-game series against UCLA at Jane Sanders Stadium on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
The No. 20 Ducks (19-8, 2-4 Pac-12) saw their leadoff batter reach in five straight innings beginning with the second, but they brought just two of those runners around. A 2-0 lead through four innings became a 2-2 tie when the Cardinal broke through in the fifth, and Stanford scored the game- and series-winning run in the sixth.
"We had opportunities; we had missed opportunities," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "And I think that's the difference. … So it's about not missing those opportunities moving forward."
Stanford needed extra innings to win Friday's series opener, before the Ducks won 2-1 on Saturday behind Morgan Scott's gem in the circle. Oregon faces another potential thriller of a series when the Ducks face their third straight top-10 opponent, UCLA, beginning Friday at The Jane.
"Stanford's a really good team and every inning was a back-and-forth battle," UO senior Ariel Carlson said. "And I think it really showed us what we're capable of. We were so close with them — and we're tired of being so close. So we can just use that as motivation to come out next weekend and take one."
How It Happened: After Stevie Hansen worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second, Oregon's offense struck the first blow. Carlson and Hanna Delgado singled to open the bottom of the second, and with one out Vallery Wong's flare into left field scored Carlson.
Ironically, several balls the Ducks hit much harder didn't fall in. Carlson crushed a high drive to left with one on in the third, but it was caught at the wall to end the inning. After Delgado tripled to lead off the fourth, Tehya Bird's two-out infield single scored her for a 2-0 lead — but that came between sharp line drives by Wong to second base and Paige Sinicki back to the pitcher that were snared for outs.
"Ariel's ball goes out, we're sitting here and things look a little different," Lombardi said. "Some balls that we hit right at people, those fall, things look a little different."
The inability to add on allowed Stanford to tie it in the fifth. A one-out triple followed by a wild pitch made it 2-1, and brought Raegan Breedlove out of the UO bullpen. A double and a single tied the game, before Allee Bunker turned a double play to end the rally.
The Cardinal took the lead in the sixth. With two out and runners on the corners, a single into right made it 3-2, although Wong threw out the other baserunner trying to take third. Delgado then led off the bottom of the sixth with a hit and reached second with one out, but another inning ended with a fly ball caught at the left-field wall, this time off the bat of Bird.
Notable: Scott made her third appearance of the series, pitching a scoreless seventh inning before the Ducks were retired in order to end the game. … The Ducks are now 3-5 in games against top-10 teams this season. … Oregon lost a one-run game for the first time this season, moving to 4-1 this spring.
Quotable:
UO junior Hanna Delgado on the team's mentality moving forward
"As a team, we do a really good job of putting it behind us and moving on. I think our mindsets are, flush it and let's get to the next game. We always come into every game, into every day, with a new attitude and a positive attitude — the energy is always there. So I think that's how we bounce back from something like this."
UO coach Melyssa Lombardi on takeaways from the Stanford series
"We want to be on the other side of it. But also, we know that any time we have something that doesn't go our way, something good comes out of it. And I know that will happen as well. So, I don't think we change anything. We just keep battling and going after it. We know what we want to do."
Up Next: The Ducks open a three-game series against UCLA at Jane Sanders Stadium on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vawter, Alana (11-1)
L: Breedlove, Raegan (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Mahler, River 1 ; Kaneshiro, A. 1 ; Lim, Kaitlyn 1
3B: Gindlesperger, T. 1
RBI: Kaneshiro, A. 1 ; Young, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gindlesperger, T. 1 ; Mahler, River 1 ; Lim, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Jones, Emily 1
Batting:
3B: Delgado, Hanna 1
RBI: Wong, Vallery 1 ; Bird, Tehya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carlson, Ariel 1 ; Delgado, Hanna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUT
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