The offensive struggles continued for the Oregon softball team Sunday.
The Ducks mustered just three hits and one run, spoiling a solid effort from pitcher Melissa Rice, as Oregon fell 5-1 to No. 14 UCLA at Howe Field, ending a disappointing weekend for the Ducks.
Oregon (37-8, 3-5 Pac-10) finished O-3 over the weekend, losing 13-3 Saturday to UCLA and 7-2 against No. 12 Washington on Friday. The three-game losing streak is Oregon’s longest of the season, but the Ducks have now lost five of their last six games.
In the three most recent losses, Oregon’s offense has generated just 12 total hits, left 19 runners on base and the opposing pitchers have recorded a combined 32 strikeouts. The Ducks entered the weekend third in the nation and tops in the conference in team batting average, hitting .340.
“I think confidence definitely comes with this game … we are kind of lacking that right now,” said redshirt freshman Jenn Salling, who led the nation with a .527 batting average entering the weekend but finished 2 for 8. “This weekend was a tough weekend for us, but I think that we’ll get it back together.”
UCLA, which has now won five straight against the Ducks, quickly jumped on the board Sunday with a solo home run in the first inning from first baseman Lisa Dodd. The Bruins’ Krista Colburn also homered with a two-run shot in the third inning that put UCLA ahead 3-0.
That was more than enough cushion for UCLA pitcher Megan Langenfeld, who pitched all seven innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out eight Oregon batters.
The Ducks got on the board in the fourth when Salling reached on a bunt single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Ann Marie Topps. An error by Langenfeld on a pop fly off the bat of freshman Neena Bryant put runners on the corners with one out for Joanna Gail, who laid down a bunt for a squeeze play that scored Salling.
But that was it for the Ducks, who managed to get only four base runners in scoring position the entire game with only Salling advancing.
UCLA added two more runs in the fifth, two of the first three hits of the inning coming on infield singles, to cushion its lead at 5-1.
“I think UCLA found a roll, they got it going, and I think we’re looking for that because it’s so contagious,” Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen said. “I thought we were better today. We didn’t hit real well … but our at-bats were more competitive.”
Rice (19-6) also pitched effectively for Oregon, going the full seven innings partly as a result of ace Alicia Cook’s illness. Cook, who pitched Friday against Washington and in the first game against UCLA on Saturday, also missed action from March 24-April 6 with similar symptoms. The date of her return is still unknown.
But Rice held her own Sunday, giving up nine hits, five earned runs and striking out two while also getting two key ground ball double plays in the fifth and sixth innings.
“I was ready to go,” Rice, a sophomore, said. “I had two mess-up pitches, but I think I made the right adjustments from the second inning on.”
And the results were much improved from the previous day against UCLA when Rice gave up six hits, seven earned runs and walked four in a staggered 1.2 innings. The Ducks as a team gave up 15 total hits and 13 runs that game. A staff that entered the weekend with the Pac-10’s lowest ERA at 1.30, gave up 35 hits and 25 runs in the three-game span.
Rice’s performance Sunday, though, showed signs of improvement, Arendsen said.
“She made two mistake pitches … but I’m proud of her because it’s hard to comeback after a really tough outing (Saturday),” Arendsen said. “She showed a lot of guts.”
After hosting Portland State on Wednesday, the Ducks embark on an eight-game road trip with the first seven against Pac-10 opponents, starting with a trip to No. 8 Arizona State and No. 4 Arizona, before ending with Portland State on May 2.
Notes
Topps became the school’s single-season record holder on Saturday by connecting on her 17th home run of the year Saturday against UCLA. Topps, who had been sitting on No. 16 since April 1 against Stanford, broke the former record set by Andrea Vidlund in 2003.
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