Your Oregon Ducks baseball and softball teams were both in action on Friday, let’s see how they fared.
The baseball team faced off against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday afternoon, looking to bounce back after a .500 record last week. Things got off to a quick start, with Oregon getting on the board in the top of the first with a two-out, two-run home run by Drew Smith. Illinois would answer back immediately with a two-run shot of their own. In the 2nd, Maddox Molony would lead off with a solo
home run, giving the Ducks a 3-2 lead, but once again the Illini would immediately answer back with a solo home run of their own, tying the game once more at 3-3.
In the 3rd, the Ducks would take a commanding lead, scoring 5 runs on an RBI double from Ryan Cooney, an RBI single from Burke-Lee Mabeus, and a three-run MONSTER of a home run from Naulivou Lauaki Jr., giving the Ducks an 8-3 lead. Oregon would break things open even further in the 4th inning, scoring three more runs on a bases-clearing three-run double off the bat of Maddox Molony, 11-3 Oregon. Illinois would hit a solo home run in each of the next three innings (potentially aided by the wind), but the Ducks would add five insurance runs in the 7th inning, two on Lauaki Jr.’s 2nd home run of the day, one on Jax Gimenez coming across on a wild pitch, and two more coming on an Angel Laya double, giving the Ducks a 16-6 win.
The softball team played host to the #23 Washington Huskies on Friday night, kicking off a weekend celebrating 10 seasons at Jane Sanders Stadium. The Ducks would strike first, with a two-run home run by Emma Cox in the bottom of the first inning, and then an RBI single from Amari Harper in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and it was 3-0 Oregon.
The Huskies would strike back, however, scoring three runs in the top of the 6th inning on a solo homerun and a two RBI double to tie the game at 3-3. But the Ducks would answer back in a big way, with Amari Harper drawing a bases loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the 6th, and then one batter later Emma Cox would hit her 2nd home run of the evening, this time a grand slam, giving the Ducks the lead once more at 8-3. Washington would go on to score one more run in the top of the 7th, but that wouldn’t be enough, and the Ducks would go on to win 8-4.
Another win for the ladies, their 9th in a row, and the first conference loss for the Huskies. So that’s always fun to see. Lindsay Grein was great once more, for the bulk of the game. There was a little trouble in the 6th, but she powered through and still has an ERA of just 2.23, which is absolutely nuts. This team will go as far as Grein’s arm will take them, I think. She is THAT important. And I think she can more than handle that pressure. These ladies will be a very tough out in OKC this June. And I can’t wait to see how far they can go.
All in all, two good wins for the Ducks Friday. Let’s see if they can keep the momentum going through the weekend.
As always, ‘Sco Ducks
