The softball game between the No. 1 Ducks and Stanford Cardinal on Sunday  was very much like a boxing match.
The teams combined for 20 runs on 22 hits. But, it was Oregon who prevailed for the 12-8 win in Palo Alto, California. With the win, Oregon improved to 37-5 overall and 15-2 in Pac-12, while Stanford dropped to 16-28 overall and 1-13 in the conference.
Out of the seven innings played in the game, five of them had runs scored.
Nikki Udria and Janelle Lindvall provided big hits for Oregon. Each player contributed four RBI’s while Jenna Lilley added two RBI’s. Udria went 3-for-4 while Lilley (3-for-3) and Lindvall (2-for-2) were perfect at the plate.
Oregon got the scoring started in the first inning when Lindvall doubled with the bases loaded to score Janie Takeda and Lilley.
Stanford responded in the bottom half of the inning when it knocked Oregon starting pitcher Geri Ann Glasco out of the pitcher’s circle after having faced four batters and walking all of them.
Karissa Hovinga came on in relief and gave up one more run in the first inning that tied the score at two.
The Ducks took the lead for good with a six-run third inning, led by two big hits from Udria and Lindvall.
Udria hit her first career grand slam for the first four runs of the inning before Lindvall doubled with the bases loaded again to score Takeda and Lilley.
The Cardinal responded with two of there own runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to 6-4 before Oregon struck again.
The Ducks got two runs back in the fourth inning when they rallied with two outs. Udria started the rally with a walk before Takeda reached base on an error. Lilley then made Stanford pay for the error when she doubled to right center that scored Udria and Takeda.
Leading 10-4, Stanford rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning that cut Oregon’s deficit to 10-8 entering the final inning.
Lilley started off the inning with a single before coming around to score on a Glasco doubled to left center to score Lilley. Glasco came around to score the final run of the game when Koral Costa doubled to right center.
Oregon and Stanford meet again on Monday int eh final game of the three-game series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka