Friday, April 14
Eugene, Ore.
7:00 PM
University of Oregon
37-3, 10-3
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Washington
30-10, 7-7
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Washington
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Oregon
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Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Even Score With Huskies
04/14/17 | Softball
Megan Kleist settled down after the first inning and a lineup change sparked Oregon's offense in a 4-1 victory Friday.
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon evened its series with Washington and set the stage for a rubber match Saturday, as the No. 4 Ducks beat the No. 12 Huskies 4-1 on Friday evening before 1,906 fans in Jane Sanders Stadium.
Megan Kleist (13-1) pitched a complete game and Nikki Udria's two-run single in the third provided the winning runs for the Ducks, who host the Huskies again Saturday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
How It Happened: The Ducks (37-3, 10-3 Pac-12) rallied for three runs in the third to come from behind and take the lead for good. Key to the inning was a leadoff single by Danica Mercado — the first leadoff hitter to reach in the series for Oregon.
Jenna Lilley's bunt single moved Mercado over, and she scored when Alexis Mack reached on a two-base error. After a fielder's choice and a stolen base again left runners at second and third, Udria dropped a single into short right-center field, plating both runners for a 3-1 lead.
Lilley was hitting leadoff and Mercado moved down to the No. 9 spot in UO coach Mike White's new-look lineup Friday. Mercado set the table for the rally by finally providing a leadoff baserunner against the Huskies.
"It's huge for us; it gets the whole offense going," White said. "I juggled things around today just to spark things, and it seemed to work."
The Ducks added some insurance in the fifth, when Mack led off with an infield single. Two batters later Udria walked to put runners at the corners, and Mack came home when Udria stole second and the throw went into center field.
Kleist threw her 11th complete game this season, finding the most trouble in the first. Washington's first three batters reached, and two batters later the Huskies (30-10, 7-7) had a 1-0 lead with the bases loaded and one out. At that point the infield joined Kleist in the circle for a brief chat, and the next pitch was as inning ending double play.
"If you're going to dig a hole, you've got to fill it in and get back out," White said. "That's what we did tonight."
What It Means: After dropping two of three last week at UCLA, the Ducks have the chance to win the series with Washington, the second of three critical series in the Pac-12 race for Oregon, which plays next week in Arizona.
Up Next: Oregon and Washington play game three of their series Saturday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
Megan Kleist (13-1) pitched a complete game and Nikki Udria's two-run single in the third provided the winning runs for the Ducks, who host the Huskies again Saturday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
How It Happened: The Ducks (37-3, 10-3 Pac-12) rallied for three runs in the third to come from behind and take the lead for good. Key to the inning was a leadoff single by Danica Mercado — the first leadoff hitter to reach in the series for Oregon.
Jenna Lilley's bunt single moved Mercado over, and she scored when Alexis Mack reached on a two-base error. After a fielder's choice and a stolen base again left runners at second and third, Udria dropped a single into short right-center field, plating both runners for a 3-1 lead.
Lilley was hitting leadoff and Mercado moved down to the No. 9 spot in UO coach Mike White's new-look lineup Friday. Mercado set the table for the rally by finally providing a leadoff baserunner against the Huskies.
"It's huge for us; it gets the whole offense going," White said. "I juggled things around today just to spark things, and it seemed to work."
The Ducks added some insurance in the fifth, when Mack led off with an infield single. Two batters later Udria walked to put runners at the corners, and Mack came home when Udria stole second and the throw went into center field.
Kleist threw her 11th complete game this season, finding the most trouble in the first. Washington's first three batters reached, and two batters later the Huskies (30-10, 7-7) had a 1-0 lead with the bases loaded and one out. At that point the infield joined Kleist in the circle for a brief chat, and the next pitch was as inning ending double play.
"If you're going to dig a hole, you've got to fill it in and get back out," White said. "That's what we did tonight."
What It Means: After dropping two of three last week at UCLA, the Ducks have the chance to win the series with Washington, the second of three critical series in the Pac-12 race for Oregon, which plays next week in Arizona.
Up Next: Oregon and Washington play game three of their series Saturday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kleist, Megan (13-1)
L: Alvelo (18-6)
Batting:
RBI: Stangel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Aguilar 1
HBP: Aguilar 1
Batting:
RBI: Udria, Nikki 2
SH: Mack, Alexis 1 ; Elish, Miranda 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mack, Alexis 2 ; Camuso, Mia 1 ; Mercado, Danica 1
SB: Mack, Alexis 1 ; Camuso, Mia 1 ; Udria, Nikki 1
HBP: Svekis, Gwen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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