Oregon softball went 1-1 over the weekend against No. 1 UCLA, giving the Bruins their first loss of the season on Sunday, Feb. 28, 3-1, before dropping their final game of the series 9-3 in Tempe, Arizona on Monday, March 1.
In the first game, Brooke Yanez had a dominant effort on the mound that led to first season win over a top-ranked opponent.
With both teams scoreless through three innings, freshman Alyssa Brito struck first on the scoreboard with a one-out solo homer to put Oregon in front 1-0 after four innings. The Ducks struck once again with another run in the fifth inning after Rachel Cid clutched an RBI single up the middle that allowed Haley Cruse to take it home.
Shaye Bowden delivered Oregon’s last run of the game with her first solo homer of the year to make it 3-0 with the final inning to play.
At the top of the seventh inning, UCLA had the chance to tie up the score with the bases loaded and one out, but Yanez stayed dominant in the final frame and threw back-to-back strikeouts to seal the win.
Yanez struck out double-digit batters for the third straight game this season with just one walk and a single run on five hits.
After shredding Utah 7-2 on the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Ducks looked for a weekend series sweep against the Bruins once again Monday morning.
UCLA struck first with an early two-run homer in the opening inning, but Oregon’s Allee Bunker hit an RBI double to bring Terra McGowan home and cut the lead, 2-1.
The Bruins went on a hitting tear in the second and third innings, scoring three more runs to increase their lead to 5-1, before Makenna Kliethermes stepped out of the bullpen and stopped the bleeding.
In the bottom of the third, the Ducks began to chip away at the four-run deficit as Cid hit her first solo homer of the season to cut the Bruin’s lead 5-2.
The last time the Ducks scored came off freshman Hanna Delgado’s first career RBI with a sacrifice fly and error that left Oregon as close as they could get for the day.
A two-run homer for the Bruins stretched their lead to 9-3 at the top of the seventh inning as the Ducks failed to cut the lead in the final frame.
Oregon dropped their first loss of the season and is now 9-1 overall with series against Boise State and Portland State coming up at home next weekend.
Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.
