Oregon softball finished the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Sunday morning with a 4-1 victory over Long Beach State University, continuing its hot streak and improving to 5-0.
The Ducks leave Puerto Vallarta with wins over Utah Valley, Brigham Young, George Washington, Nevada and Long Beach State to start the season.
Junior lefty pitcher Brooke Yanez notched the win for the Ducks, her third of the young season. She allowed three hits and no earned runs over four innings while striking out three, walking and hitting a batter. Long Beach State’s only run came off of senior transfer Samaria Diaz in the fifth, when Naomi Hernandez hit a two-out double to score Justin Briones.
The Oregon pitching staff got a glimpse of what the rotation could look like for the season, with junior Jordan Dail closing the game with a six-out save. Dail didn’t allow a baserunner in her two innings pitched.
This was possibly Oregon’s worst offensive performance of the season thus far. The Ducks struck out nine times and failed to notch an extra base hit all game, going scoreless after the second inning. The only batter that didn’t go down on strikes was sophomore Hannah Galey, who went 1-3 with an RBI single in the second.
Most of the offensive production once again came from the top of the lineup for Oregon. The top three batters had four-of-eight Oregon hits and two of the four RBIs. Senior Haley Cruse and Junior Shaye Bowden tallied two hits apiece, but Terra McGowan led the Ducks with two RBI’s, both coming on her two-out single up the middle in the second inning.
Through five games, Oregon has outscored its opponents 34-2, including two mercy-rule games. The pitching staff has been especially impressive — through 32 innings, they’ve allowed two runs, the team ERA is just .44, opponent batting average is only .123, and they’ve walked just three.
The Ducks return from Mexico Sunday, but will have a quick turnaround as they head to Houston, Texas next weekend where they will face Houston and Dayton, each for two games.
