After a 9-1 start, the Oregon softball team played their home opener at Jane Sanders Stadium on Saturday, taking on the Portland State Vikings, who lost to Boise State in extra innings just minutes before the game started.
Junior left-hander Brooke Yanez and her 1.50 ERA took the mound for the Ducks. She came out firing, striking out the side in order in the first inning.
Haley Cruse reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the second, and Allee Bunker drew a walk, but the Ducks struck out twice, leaving them both stranded.
Yanez allowed her first hit with a leadoff single in the second, and the runner advanced to third on a stolen base and a groundout. However, Yanez got out of it with two consecutive strikeouts, bringing her total to five through two innings.
The Ducks got another baserunner in the bottom of the second with Shaye Bowden drawing a walk, but they left her on second.
Cruse was hit by a pitch in the third inning, and promptly stole her second base of the game. After she advanced to third on a flyout, Bunker brought her in with a sacrifice fly. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead without recording a hit.
Yanez continued to overpower hitters. She gave up a two-out single in the fourth and a one-out walk in the fifth, but had her strikeout total up to nine through five scoreless innings.
After Hanna Delgado drew a walk in the fifth, Cruse hit a ball that went through the shortstop’s legs and rolled all the way to the wall. It was ruled a double, so Oregon got their first hit as Delgado scored and the Ducks took a 2-0 lead.
In the sixth, Mya Felder singled and Terra McGowan doubled to start things off. Hanna Delgado came in clutch with two outs, poking a single to left field and bringing in two more to make it 4-0.
Yanez came back out to the mound for the seventh. After a leadoff single, she gave up a towering two-run homer to left-center field that cut the Ducks’ lead to 4-2. However, she bounced back to strike out the side as the Ducks took the game. She ended up pitching a complete game while striking out 12, allowing just four hits and a walk.
The Ducks improve to 10-1 and the Vikings fall to 1-5. Game two of the doubleheader will be played approximately 30 minutes after the completion of game one. Oregon will play another doubleheader on Sunday, taking on Boise State at 12:30 p.m. and Portland State again at 3:00 p.m.
