The No. 24 Oregon Ducks (22-13, 9-5 Pac-12) had another impressive offensive performance to secure the series win over the No. 9 Washington Huskies (26-7, 10-5 Pac-12) with a 6-4 victory. The Ducks relied on Morgan Scott’s pitching down the stretch to secure the game, and she delivered. Scott recorded three strikeouts while allowing just three hits and a run in her 1.2 innings in the circle.
“The [Pac-12] is tough,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “We want to win the Pac, so to win the Pac we have to go through a team like Washington and find a way to win the series.”
Oregon’s Stevie Hansen started in the circle for the final game of the series and was able to get two outs quickly after walking the first batter. However, that final out would elude her for long enough for Washington’s Alana Johnson to hit a two-run homer to open the scoring in the game. The Ducks were able to end the inning shortly after, but not before opening with a 2-0 deficit.
Hansen’s struggles continued into the second inning where she allowed a walk and a single to put two runners on for the Huskies. Elise Sokolsky came out of the bullpen to replace Hansen, ending her day early. Washington’s Jillian Celis scored the third run for the Huskies after a fielding error allowed her to get home. The run made the score 3-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning.
“What is huge is that we have a staff that we’re not having to solely depend on one person,” Lombardi said. “I think our pitching staff got better this weekend. I think they walk away looking at things a little different and just putting them in some really intense moments and seeing them shine through.”
On the other side, Oregon was unable to replicate its offensive firepower from the day before. Through the first four innings of the game, the Ducks were held scoreless despite having five hits. Kai Luschar hit a single in both of her first two at bats, but was thrown out at home the first time and caught stealing the second to mitigate her impact in the game.
The bottom of the fifth inning saw Oregon put real pressure on the Huskies’ defense for the first time in the game. Paige Sinicki hit a double deep into right field and Luschar reached on an error to put two runners on base. Vallery Wong was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Alyssa Daniell, who promptly hit a double to left-center to score all three. Emma Kauf hit another double — the third of the inning for the Ducks — to bring home Daniell and put Oregon in front for the first time in the game.
“I just focused on what I knew I could do best,” Daniell said. “I put myself in this position every single day at practice so it just felt normal, and I’m very happy I was able to do that for the team.”
Now that the floodgates were open for the Ducks, the runs just kept on flowing. Freshman Katie Flannery homered — just her second of the season — to left-center to add two more runs on the pile. That homer ended the game for Washington’s Ruby Meylan. She ended the game with six runs and nine hits allowed through 4.2 innings pitched. After five innings, Oregon led 6-3 thanks to its incredible inning.
The Huskies put together a rally attempt in the top of the sixth inning, getting runners on second and third after a single and a double from the offense. That led the Ducks to make another change in the circle, this time putting in Scott to close out the game. Scott walked a batter to load the bases, but struck out the next two to keep Washington scoreless since the second inning.
The Huskies made one final push to extend the game in the top of the seventh inning. They got two hits, both singles, and had a batter walked to load the bases with two outs. This time, Washington was able to capitalize. Sydney Stewart hit a single to bring in one run and keep the bases loaded. However, that was all the damage the Huskies would do to the lead. A groundout ended the game as Oregon won 6-4 to take the series.
“I’m not going to back down to anyone,” Scott said. “I know they have pretty good hitters, but I know I have better stuff and today was all about just spinning the crap out of the ball.”
For just the second time in Pac-12 Conference play, the winner of the hitting battle did not win the game. The Ducks recorded nine hits to the 10 hits from Washington. However, it was the timeliness of the hits that gave Oregon the edge in the contest. Four of the hits came in the fifth inning, allowing the Ducks to come away with the win.
“It feels amazing, this team deserves it,” Daniell said. “This team works very hard every single day, we know what we’re capable of, and we’re very happy that it showed today.”
Oregon’s next game is a midweek road matchup with the Grand Canyon University Antelopes on Wednesday, Apr. 10 at 6:00 p.m. After that, the Ducks travel to take on the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, Apr. 12 at 5:00 p.m.