Coming into a three-game series with No. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette, the No. 2 Oregon softball knew it would have to bring its best in order to secure victories.
Cheridan Hawkins definitely got the memo.
Hawkins threw her sixth career no-hitter as the Ducks defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns by a score of 8-0 in five innings. With the win, Oregon improves to 39-5 overall with a nine-game winning streak, while ULL drops to 34-5 overall.
Hawkins was dominant from the very start when she began the game with a strikeout on three pitches. After giving up a walk to the next batter, Hawkins retired the next 10 batters she faced, seven of which came via strikeout.
Her streak of 10-straight came to an end after she gave up a walk with two outs in the fourth inning. She recovered with another strikeout. Hawkins ended her game in the fifth by retiring three batters in a row, including getting her 11th strikeout of the game with the last batter.
Offensively, the Ducks loaded up at the top of the lineup as Nikki Udria, Janie Takeda and Jenna Lilley — the first three batters in the lineup — combined for seven of the team’s eight hits.
Udria went 2-for-3 with three RBI’s, Takeda went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Lilley went 3-for-3 with four RBI’s.
Oregon broke the game open in the second inning when they scored five runs on three hits and a stolen base.
Udria got the scoring started when she hit a one-out, bases-loaded single up the middle for the first two runs of the game. Takeda followed that with a single that scored Janelle Lindvall (1-for-1). Takeda then stole second base before Lilley singled to score Udria and Takeda for the fourth and fifth runs of the inning.
The Ducks added two runs in the fourth inning on Lilley’s two-run homerun. The final run came on Udria’s walk solo homerun with two outs in the fifth inning.
Takeda’s second inning proved to be a big for herself and the Oregon softball program. With her single, Takeda became Oregon’s all-time hits leader with her 289th career hit, breaking Courtney Ceo’s record of 288 career hits. Takeda’s stolen base later in the inning also gave her 97 for her career, breaking her tie with Sari-Jane Jenkins for most in Oregon history.
The Ducks return to action tomorrow with a doubleheader against the Ragin’ Cajuns. First game is set for 12 p.m. at Howe Field.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter: @Ryan_Kostecka