No. 5 Oregon softball (10-2) faced two top-20 teams in its first games of the Mary Nutter Classic, beating No. 18 Oklahoma State 4-1 and falling 3-1 to No. 6 Texas A&M in what is the Ducks’ second loss of the season.
The Ducks went up 1-0 in the second on a Mia Camuso home run, but Oklahoma State tied the game 1-1 in the fourth on a throwing error from Mary Iakopo after a wild pitch allowed Oklahoma State’s Taylor Pence to advance to third.
Oregon took the lead back with a Shaye Bowden home run in the fifth, which was followed by two RBI singles from Shannon Rhodes and Gwen Svekis to give the Ducks the 4-1 lead that pitcher Miranda Elish would hold onto in her fourth win of the season.
The Ducks then turned around to face Texas A&M, the only team Oregon will play that featured in last year’s Women’s College World Series.
With Megan Kleist pitching for Oregon, the Ducks had their most experienced pitcher running the show for them. But, Kleist was unable to hold off the Aggies as Oregon dropped the game 3-1.
The Ducks got on the board first with a run walked in. In the sixth, a single from Texas A&M’s Ashley Walters with two runners on led to an errand throw back into the diamond from center field, allowing all three Aggies to score.
Maggie Balint relieved Kleist in the seventh inning to keep Texas A&M from adding on to its lead. She did so, but in the bottom of the inning with two outs, Oregon hit back-to-back singles and had the winning run come to the plate in the form of Jenna Lilley. She made contact on a pitch but a diving catch in center field secured the win for Texas A&M.
Oregon plays again tomorrow against No. 11 Tennessee followed by a matchup against the Japanese national team.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow