Jessica Moore was in the circle at the start of the weekend, and so it was only fitting that she stood in the very same place at Red and Charline McCombs Field when Oregon recorded the final out in a 10-6 victory that clinched its first trip to the Women’s College World Series since 1989.
The No. 11 seeded Ducks (44-16) used a six-run outburst in the second inning as a take off point in Saturday’s Super Regional rubber match against No. 6 seed Texas (47-13), and went on to put up four more runs in the fourth inning to effectively put the game — and series — away. Moore pitched all seven innings, giving up six runs but earning an all-important second victory of the day and putting a bow on what was yet another prolific weekend for the junior from Sutter, Calif. All together, Moore threw for 20 innings over the course of the three game series, giving up 14 earned runs and striking out 11 batters.
“She’s a winner,” Oregon head coach Mike White said during an ESPN interview. “She wants the ball, she wants to get out there, she wants to do the best she can. It’s not always how she wants to perform, but I know that each time she goes out there she’s going to give me 100 percent.”
After squeaking out a victory in an extra inning nail biter earlier on Saturday, Oregon gave itself a much needed cushion in the second inning of game three. First baseman Christie Nieto got things started when she was hit by a pitch, and advanced to third base on a double from catcher Alexa Peterson. Moore then reached base on a fielder’s choice grounder, driving in Nieto and moving Peterson to third. A sacrifice fly pushed Peterson across home, and game two hero Janie Takeda followed with a double that scored Oregon’s third run. Two more singles and a double later, Oregon had doubled its total — and all of a sudden held a commanding 6-0 lead it would never relinquish.
Texas finally got on the board with three runs in the fourth inning, and though bullpen activity began to stir at that point, Moore remained in the game. In the bottom half of the frame, the Ducks picked up four more insurance runs — which would turn out to be crucial later in the evening.
Though Moore cruised through the fifth and sixth innings, Texas wasn’t ready to go down without a fight in the seventh. Right fielder Taylor Hoagland and second baseman Lexy Bennett smacked back-to-back home runs with one out to cut the margin to 10-5, and two batters later center fielder Courtney Craig hit the inning’s third round tripper over the left field wall to make it 10-6. Left fielder Allie Burger’s fielding error gave Texas one last gasp, but she made up for it by nabbing the final out on a routine fly ball.
Oregon, at long last, was moving on to the Women’s College World Series. After flaming out at Super Regionals in each of the past two years, Saturday’s victories served as a much anticipated next step. Yet, with the World Series matchup against defending national champion Arizona State in Oklahoma City fast approaching, there is little time to celebrate.
In many ways, White and co.’s work is just getting started.