SAN DIEGO, Cal. — After starting their season last weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, No. 14 Oregon Softball (6-5) headed back west for the Campbell/Cartier Classic.
The Ducks finished the weekend 2-3, splitting a pair of games with Loyola Marymount, beating San Diego State in their lone contest, and dropping both to No. 25 Texas A&M.
Oregon’s first game of the weekend came on Friday morning, losing 4-1 to the Texas A&M Aggies. TAMU hosted the Aggie Classic last weekend, winning all four of their games to secure their ranking as the No. 25 team in the country ahead of this weekend.
Morgan Scott was tagged with the loss for Oregon, dropping her record to 1-2 this season despite pitching well. Through five innings, she had limited the Aggie offense to two runs on five hits, while Alyssa Daniell’s bases-loaded RBI single in the third had Oregon still in striking range.
After getting the first two batters to ground out in the sixth, an error by second baseman, KK Humphreys, allowed Keely Williams to reach base. She then stole second, and reached third when Allie Enright singled up the middle. That would do it for Scott, with head coach Melyssa Lombardi deciding to hand the ball to freshman righty, Taylour Spencer.
Spencer walked the next batter to load the bases, setting the stage for Aiyana Coleman to drive home two unearned runs to put the Aggies up 4-1. Spencer forced a flyout to get out of the inning, but the damage was already done. The Ducks were only able to put three more runners on base, and couldn’t capitalize, starting their weekend with a loss.
It didn’t get much better in the second half of Friday’s doubleheader, as Oregon’s offense was completely shut down in a 4-0 loss to Loyola Marymount, dropping their record to 4-4 on the season.
The Ducks were again hurt by their lone error, this time in the third inning. Stevie Hansen had allowed a hit in each of the first two innings but had kept LMU’s offense from doing anything with those base runners. She started the third by forcing a ground out, but an error by third baseman, Tehya Bird allowed Avery Francis to reach base.
After giving up a single and striking out the next batter looking, Hansen had two down with runners on first and second. Izzy Jamgotchian came out swinging on the first pitch, finding outfield grass for a double, scoring both unearned runs.
Hansen kept things locked down until the sixth, but her offense gave her no support. She gave up a leadoff walk to start the sixth before getting the next two outs. It looked like Hansen would have a chance to erase that leadoff baserunner, but Jasmine Sofowora had other plans, launching the 0-1 pitch over the left field fence, increasing the LMU lead to 4-0.
Bird led off the top of the seventh with a single to give the Ducks a baserunner but was followed by two straight outs. Emma Kauf walked to put runners on first and second, setting up Ariel Carlson to fly out to right field, ending the game.
The Ducks got their revenge on LMU in their first game on Saturday with a dominant 8-0 win. Elise Solosky threw four innings, only allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five, picking up the win to improve her record to 2-0 on the year. She was followed by Spencer, who gave up four hits in her two innings, but picked up a strikeout while maintaining the shutout.
Oregon’s offense was shut down with a one-two-three first inning before Kauf got things started with a single down the left-field line to lead off the second. Daniell flew out to left and Kauf was cut down trying to steal second for the second out of the inning. KK Humphreys singled up the middle to give the Ducks another baserunner, which Vallery Wong capitalized on by launching her a two-run homer to left field, her first of the year
Bird and Paige Sinicki both singled and Kai Luschar walked, loading the bases for Hanna Delgado, but she grounded back to the pitcher to end the inning.
Daniell hit a solo shot in the third and Regan Legg scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, giving the Ducks a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Wong and Kauf both picked up RBI singles, while Delgado and Carlson both had RBI walks, giving the Ducks an 8-0 lead to force the mercy rule.
Overall, the Ducks picked up 11 hits while walking four times and only striking out three. Kauf, Humphreys, Wong, Bird, and Sinicki each picked up two hits to lead the way, with Humphreys’ two runs and Wong’s three RBIs both leading the team.
Oregon kept the shutout going with a 2-0 win over the San Diego State Aztecs in Saturday’s second game. Scott was absolutely dominant, only allowing two baserunners while striking out two en route to a complete game shutout.
The Ducks' only runs came in the fourth when Delgado started things off with a single up the middle before Carlson reached on a fielder’s choice and error from the SDSU defense. Kauf drove home Delgado with and single of her own and advanced to second when Carlson was cut down trying to take the extra base at third. Daniell found the gap in left-center for a double, scoring Kauf to give Oregon the only runs they would need to secure the win.
Wong was the only Duck to pick up multiple base hits, going 2-for-3. Across both of Saturday’s games, she went 4-for-6 with three RBIs, one run, and her first homer of the season.
Oregon wasn’t able to keep the momentum they captured on Saturday going into Sunday morning’s game against Texas A&M, losing 2-0 to bring their record to 2-3 on the weekend. Despite a strong outing from Spencer in her first start of the season, going 5.1 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, Oregon’s offense just didn’t come ready to play.
All six of Oregon’s hits came from a total of three players, with Luschar, Delgado, and Sinicki each picking up two base knocks, and the rest of the offense combining to go 0-15 from the dish.
Luschar started the game with an infield single and stole second to give the Ducks a runner in scoring position with no outs. Daniell, Carlson, and Kauf all grounded out, ending the inning and leaving Luschar stranded at third.
Wong led things off with a full-count walk in the second, reaching third when Delgado singled and the Aggie right fielder made a throwing error. Humphreys lined out to short and Wong tried to catch the defense lacking by tagging up from third but was gunned down at the plate for a double play. Bird then struck out swinging to end the inning.
Oregon again put runners on base in the third, with Sinicki singling, Luschar reaching on a fielder’s choice, and a walk from Carlson. The inning ended with no runs for the Ducks, as Kauf grounded into a fielder’s choice, with the defense tagging out Luschar at third to end the inning.
Delgado doubled to center field in the fourth, but was left stranded when Humphreys flew out to left and Bird struck out swinging. The Aggies were able to put their first run on the board, as Kramer Eschete singled before Allie Enright doubled to left, scoring Eschete and giving the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
Sinicki led off the fifth with a single, but Luschar lined out to short and Sinicki was caught off the base for a double play. Daniel then popped up to second to end another scoreless inning.
Carlson walked and stole second to put another runner in scoring position in the sixth before Wong flew out to right field and Delgado was rung up looking to end the inning.
Texas A&M added another run in the bottom of the frame on a solo shot by Julia Cottrill, ending the day for Spencer.
The Ducks had another opportunity with a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh when KK Humphreys walked and advanced to second on a single from Luschar. Daniell flew out to left field, leaving both runners stranded and giving Oregon their second loss to the Aggies.
The Ducks left eight runners on base on Sunday, going 2-for-19 with runners on. They were even worse with runners in scoring position, going hitless in 11 at-bats, the main reason why they lost the game despite a strong pitching performance.
Oregon’s pitching was great all weekend, only allowing six earned runs across the five games, but they were let down by poorly timed errors from their defense and an inability to capitalize with runners on base from their offense. The Ducks went 7-for-46 with runners in scoring position across the weekend, good for a lowly .152 batting average.
Oregon heads to Cathedral City, California on Thursday for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Last year, the Ducks went 4-1 at the tournament, picking up three wins over ranked teams.
They’ll play five games from Thursday to Saturday, facing off against UCF, No. 22 Baylor, Notre Dame, Long Beach State, and Nebraska.
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