It was a record-setting day at a rainy Howe Field Sunday morning.
The Ducks (22-3, 2-0 Pac-12) and Beavers combined for 35 runs, which broke the previous record for a Civil War softball game en route to a 23-12 Oregon win over Oregon State (19-8, 0-2) in run-ruled fashion.
Oregon’s 23 total runs also set the program record for most scores in a game. The Ducks drew 13 walks, also a school record.
Gwen Svekis’ nine RBIs are the most in single-game school history. The previous record was seven. Svekis had three hits in four at-bats.
Both Oregon and Oregon State scored four runs a piece in the first inning. Karissa Hovinga started in the circle for the Ducks, but didn’t escape the first inning after a stolen base and error, which scored a run and a Beaver solo shot. She gave up three earned runs.
Oregon’s Geri Ann Glasco came in relief of Hovinga and gave up a first-pitch home-run to OSU’s Sammi Noland. Glasco departed after recording an out. She was charged for three Beaver runs.
Janie Takeda drew a walk in the bottom of the first and scored on a dropped third pitch. Oregon’s Svekis hit a three-run homer scoring Hailey Decker and Janelle Lindvall.
OSU tacked on three more runs in the top of the second to take the lead 7-4. Oregon answered with seven runs in the bottom of the third after a Svekis triple scored two. Koral Costa followed that up with a home-run in her second straight game. Udria singled in the fifth run and Lindvall drove in a pair with a single to make the lead 11-7.
Jasmine Smithson-Willet didn’t give up any earned runs in relief of Glasco, striking out three and allowing just two hits in 2.2 innings of relief. Cheridan Hawkins entered the game for the Ducks and ended up pitching 1.1 innings.
Gilmore scored for OSU after Hawkins hit a batter. Natalie Hampton drilled a grand slam dead center over the center field fence to give the Beavers a five-run fourth inning and the lead, 12-11.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Ducks exploded offensively.
Costa’s walk scored Gillespie to tie it back up again. A wild pitch by OSU’s Rainey Dyreson scored Danica Mercado.
Lilley’s double scored Gillespie and Udria. Decker drew the walk, which scored Takeda.
Svekis followed that up with a grand slam, scoring Decker, Lindvall and Lilley. Sammie Puentes singled, scoring Costa and Mercado. In the next at-bat, Takeda’s single scored Puentes, who advanced to second on a fielding error.
In all, the Ducks scored 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Hawkins earns the win and is now 10-2 on the season. OSU’s Taylor Cotton takes the loss. She falls to 1-1.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
