The No. 22 Oregon Ducks (24-15, 10-7 Pac-12) dropped the third game of the series against the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats (28-13-1, 9-9 Pac-12) 3-2 to lose just their second series of Pac-12 play. Oregon was unable to get the offense going and got outhit 8-7 in the extra innings loss.
The Ducks struck first in the game with Kai Luschar scoring her third run of the series. She got on base with a single, then stole second. Ariel Carlson was then able to bring Luschar home with a double to deep right-center. That run gave Oregon a 1-0 lead after its first chance at the plate.
However, the Ducks would not hold that lead for long. The Wildcats’ Regan Shockey singled to get on base. She reached third base before Arizona’s Blaise Biringer brought in the first run of the day for the Wildcats with a double. Oregon’s Raegan Breedlove was replaced by Elise Sokolsky after the run.
A pitching battle ensued for the next few innings. Neither Arizona nor the Ducks were able to get more than one hit in each inning as Sokolsky and Aissa Silva dominated in the circle. Unfortunately for Oregon, the Wildcats’ Olivia DiNardo smacked a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning to give them a 2-1 lead.
That lead held until late in the game. The Ducks needed an equalizer in the final inning to extend the game, and they got it from Paige Sinicki. She hit a solo homer to even the score at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
Sokolsky got the first two outs in the inning before Morgan Scott took over to close out the side. Oregon and Arizona headed into an eighth inning to decide a winner.
The Ducks had their offensive woes continue into the extra frame. KK Humphreys hit a single to put the first runner on base for Oregon with two outs already in the inning. However, she was caught stealing to give Arizona a chance to reclaim its lead.
After the Ducks managed to get the first out of the inning, a fielding error allowed DiNardo to reach first base before having Ali Blanchard come in to pinch run. Scott walked the next batter, then allowed a single to load the bases. Blanchard was able to score the winning run on a ball put into play by Jasmine Perezchica to secure a 3-2 win for the Wildcats.
Although Oregon fell in the game, Sokolsky had an incredible outing in the circle. She pitched 6.0 innings and allowed just four hits and one run in the game. Scott recorded the loss in the game after allowing a hit and a run in her 0.2 innings pitched.
The Ducks will play their next series in Eugene against the Oregon State Beavers. The first game is on Friday, Apr. 19 and starts at 5:00 p.m.
