Oregon had a very similar performance on Saturday as they did on Sunday, though it could be argued their competition was a bit tougher on the second day of competition. It was close at first the Ducks blew out Liberty late before dropping a hard fought game against Tennessee.
Oregon 10, Liberty 2
Taylour Spencer started in the circle and engaged in a full on pitchers duel, giving up only 3 hits and no earned runs. Oregon’s offense only managed a single in the first inning and a couple walks through the fourth inning.
the Ducks managed a single and double in the top of the fifth but couldn’t bring either runner home. In the bottom of the inning a fielding error allowed the Flames to get a runner to first, who went on to steal second and reach third on a sacrifice bunt. A fielder’s choice to short stop led to the first score, but Oregon’s defense held firm afterward an the Ducks trailed by only 1 in the top of the 6th.
Liberty’s starting pitcher had kept the Ducks lineup scoreless through five innings, but in the top of the sixth her momentum ran out. A wild pitch brought home Amari Harper followed quickly by Elon Butler after an errant throw from the Flames.
A walk and two singles loaded the bases for Stefini Ma’ake, who paid it off with a grand slam. Within half an inning a close game had been blown wide open and the Ducks led 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Maddie Milhorn came on in relief and gave up no runs in the bottom of the inning. Oregon then added 4 runs off 4 consecutive hits: a double from Harper, a triple from Butler, a single by Kaylynn Jones capped by a homer from Emma Cox. Had the scoring happened earlier the Ducks would have ended the game early on the run-rule. The Flames reclaimed some honor with a score in the final inning but the Ducks coasted to a 10-2 victory.
Oregon 0, Tennessee 2
Lyndsey Grein returned to the circle for a heavy weight bout as the #5 Ducks went against #4 Volunteers. Grein took a while to find her groove, walking four batters in the first inning to put Oregon in a 1-0 hole. Fans were beginning to sweat when Grein walked the first batter in the second inning as well. That seemed to knock the rust off. She proceeded to hold Tennessee scoreless through the end of the fifth inning. The Ducks offense was hidden underwater when faced with Volunteer’s ace Karlyn Pickens, managing only two base hits and three walks through five innings.
In the top of the sixth the Vols’ batters finally found Grein’s speed, bringing another run home with a pair of doubles. An Oregon runner gained first base on a walk, but once again the Ducks failed to advance them. Grein had held up admirably but had also thrown more pitches than her Tennessee counterpart by the time the seventh inning began. After walking the first batter she was relieved by Emma Cox. By the time Oregon had gotten two outs, Tennessee had runners at 2nd and 3rd. Head Coach Melissa Lombardi made the risky call to intentionally walk a batter to the open first base in order to gain a favorable match up for Cox, who rewarded her coach’s confidence with a strike out to keep hope alive.
While Katie Flannery got on base with a single, Tennessee pitcher Pickens completed an impressive 7-inning shutout. For the second day in a row, Oregon had lost a close game to a quality opponent. While it can be argued Oregon gave the Clemson game away with fielding errors, Tennessee’s elite defense won this game on it’s own.
Oregon will look to end their opening weekend on a positive note against Southeastern Louisiana. The first pitch is scheduled for 7AM PST in Clearwater, FL.
