Oregon softball (13-17, 1-7) won its first Pac-12 game of the season, and of the Missy Lombardi era, Saturday with a 7-2 win over Stanford (24-5, 3-1).
The Ducks were up big early thanks to a five-run first inning, highlighted by a Shaye Bowden grand slam. Following a leadoff single by Haley Cruse, a Cherish Burks hit by pitch and a Jasmine Sievers walk, Bowden rocketed her third home run on the season to left.
The grand slam marks the second straight game in which the Ducks hit one in the first inning. Freshman Allee Bunker hit one in the Friday loss to the Cardinal.
Freshman third baseman Rachel Cid tacked onto the lead with a solo shot one batter later in the first. The home run marked a team-leading No. 6 on the season for Cid.
The Ducks added a run in the second and sixth innings. Cruse scored on a Sievers single in the second and Hannah Galey scored on a Cherish Burks ground out in the sixth.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Maddie MacGrandle bounced back from her poor performance on Friday, in which she surrendered four runs in .1 innings and received the loss. MacGrandle lowered her ERA to 7.73 with 5.2 innings pitched.
The performance was easily MacGrandle’s best of the season. She limited her walks and limited the Cardinal to just two runs.
The two runs for the Cardinal came in the second and the fifth inning. Emily Young scored in the second inning after she was hit by a pitch and then tripled home by Emily Schultz. Teaghan Cowles doubled home Alyssa Horeczko to briefly cut into the then 6-2 lead.
Kailey Krueger relieved MacGrandle in the sixth with runners on first and second and two outs. She promptly got Schultz to pop out Bunker to end the inning.
Krueger retook the circle in the seventh and finished of the Cardinal. The freshman from West Linn, Oregon, allowed just one hit and struck out two batters on way to clinching the Ducks first conference victory.
Oregon and Stanford will retake the field Sunday at 1 p.m. with the winner taking the series. A win could give Lombardi and her team their first conference series win of the season.
Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack
