Your Oregon Ducks baseball and softball teams were both in action on Friday night, let’s see how they did. First up, the #11 ranked softball team traveled down to LA to square off against the #5 UCLA Bruins in a gigantic Big Ten series, their last of the regular season. The Bruins would get things started in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI gap-double to right-center field. And then, three straight innings of just clutch pitching by both teams. Any time runners would get on base,
somehow each pitcher was able to escape the situation without any damage. That is, until the top of the 5th inning, when Elon Butler would pull the first pitch of the inning down the left field line for a solo home run. And then, two batters later, Stefini Ma’ake would get a hold of one and blast a solo home run of her own, giving the Ducks a 2-1 lead. UCLA would respond, however, hitting another solo shot to right field to tie the game at 2-2 after 5 innings.
It would remain tied at 2-2 until the top of the 7th. Leading things off, Elon Butler hit a gap-double to left-center, followed immediately by an Amari Harper single, to put runners on the corners. Emma Cox would step up next, and hit a first pitch single, bringing Butler around to score. 3-2 Oregon. Then, on the very next pitch, Stefini Ma’ake would hit ANOTHER home run, her 2nd of the game, increasing the Oregon lead to 6-2. And three batters later, a Rylee McCoy two-run shot to bring the score up to 8-2, securing the Oregon victory.
The baseball team, however, would travel north to face off against their most hated rival, the Washington Huskies. The Ducks would take advantage of some sloppy play by UW in the top of the first, scoring a run after a HBP, a throwing error, and a sacrifice bunt, taking a 1-0 lead early. But the Huskies would answer right back in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with no outs, before cashing in with a 3-RBI double to left-center, and taking a 3-1 lead after one. They would get another run in the 2nd on more sloppy pitching, scoring off a wild pitch after walking two batters on base. 4-1 UW.
Oregon would get a run back in the 4th inning, cutting the lead in half at 4-2 on a Naulivou Lauaki Jr. RBI single with two outs and the bases loaded, but that would be all they would get from that threat. The next few innings would be scoreless on both sides, until the 8th inning, where Oregon would come through with a clutch 3-run home run from Burke-Lee Mabeus with two outs, putting the Ducks back on top 5-4. They would get an insurance run from the very next batter, with Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hitting an ABSOLUTE BOMB over the center field wall and into the lake behind the field, clinching the Oregon win 6-4.
Another great day to be a Duck, eh? Getting to watch one team take down a top-5 ranked opponent, and then see the other come from behind to knock off their most hated rival? Man… That’s a pretty great day in my book.
As always, ‘Sco Ducks
