For the second straight day, the matchup between No. 13 Oregon and No. 20 Utah came down to home runs. And for the second straight day, it was Utah that emerged victorious.
The game felt closer than the final 8-2 score might indicate, but the Ducks failed to cash in with runners in scoring position and imploded in the seventh on Saturday. It led to a tough defeat at home as they dropped their final regular season series, which also eliminated them from potentially grabbing second place in the Pac-12. Remarkably, all 14 runs between the two games have come on homers.
“That’s not us out there,” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “We’re not playing our ball.”
Utah left-hander Sarah Ladd made just her fourth start of the year. With two on and one out in the first, Ariel Carlson singled into left field, but it was hit too softly to score a run. Alyssa Daniell and KK Humphreys each popped out to second base as the Ducks missed a bases-loaded opportunity.
“I think of the opportunities that we had on base to clutch up and score runners,” Lombardi said. “So I just think, all in all, we didn’t do enough as a team to get the win today.”
On the mound for Oregon, Stevie Hansen retired the first six batters. She wasn’t overpowering hitters, but she was keeping them off balance by spotting her pitches well.
Abby Dayton led off the third inning with an infield hit — that was later overturned into an E5 — for Utah’s first baserunner. The next batter reached on a strange play where Allee Bunker dropped a routine popup but got the force out at second. Hansen quickly lost the sharp command she’d had going. Karlie Davison, the No. 9 hitter, smashed a two-run homer to left-center field to put the Utes on top 2-0.
Bunker singled and stole second in the bottom of the third, but Terra McGowan lined one to third base. Carlson struck out looking to end the frame as the fans grew continuously disgruntled with the umpire’s strike zone.
Utah collected two more singles in the fourth inning, but Hansen weaseled out of it. The second out came on another peculiar fielder’s choice, with Tehya Bird snagging a hard grounder at third base and flipping it to shortstop Paige Sinicki, who barely held onto the ball long enough to get the out.
Alyssa Daniell and KK Humphreys both reached to start the bottom of the fourth, but the Ducks couldn’t make anything of it. Lombardi opted to pinch-hit Kedre Luschar for Bird and Katelyn Howard for Sinicki, and it didn’t pay off.
Oregon finally got on the board with a McGowan home run to dead central in the fifth. It came just one pitch after hitting a foul ball that had home run distance. The solo shot cut the two-run deficit in half.
“I felt like I was seeing it well,” McGowan said. “Just wanted to make sure I was on time when I got the pitch that I knew I could hit.”
Utah responded with another home run of its own, quickly putting Oregon back in a two-run hole. The Ducks couldn’t respond in the bottom of the sixth as they stranded two more runners. This time, Lombardi opted to keep Sinicki in, and she popped out weakly to third base.
After a leadoff infield hit in the seventh, Lombardi pulled Hansen from the game. It was a solid effort from Oregon’s ace; she only struck out one and gave up a pair of homers, but exited with just two earned runs charged to her.
“I think the biggest thing for us on the mound is keeping the ball in the yard. Too many balls went out of the yard today,” Lombardi said. “But I liked how she worked. I thought she did a good job; just a couple balls that I think if she could get back — all of us could get back — we’d want to.”
After Hansen left, the game turned disastrous in a hurry. Morgan Scott gave up a two-run homer to the first batter she faced, extending Utah’s lead to 5-1. She gave up two more singles, then allowed a three-run blast to blow it open to 8-1. It was a rare bad outing for Scott, whose ERA climbed to 2.75.
“I think they just got barrel on ball, which is what we need to do from here on out as well,” McGowan said.
The Ducks got merely a Bunker solo shot in the bottom of the seventh, as Ladd wound up throwing a complete game. Each starting pitcher only struck out one, yet the teams combined for six home runs.
No. 13 Oregon (35-13, 14-9 Pac-12) will look to avoid the sweep against No. 20 Utah (33-13, 14-9 Pac-12) at 2 p.m. on Sunday as the Ducks celebrate Senior Day.
