In the first game of Oregon softball’s series with Stanford, the Ducks won the game with dominant pitching. Fast forward to the second game of the series and this time Oregon used it’s explosive offense to earn the victory.
“The power came back a little bit more towards the end there with Nikki [Udria] getting a couple homeruns and Koral [Costa] hitting the ball hard,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “We just find a way to get it done.”
Nikki Udria had two homeruns and a triple while Geri Ann Glasco hit a walkoff two-run blast as the Ducks defeated the Cardinal 11-2 in six innings on Friday night. With the win, Oregon (25-4) keeps its Pac-12 record perfect at 5-0 while Stanford (11-13) drops to 0-2.
Just like Thursday’s game, Oregon started off hot by scoring two runs in the first inning. After Alyssa Gillespie drew a walk, Udria tripled to right center for the first run of the game. Koral Costa, the next batter, then lined out to centerfield to score Udria for the early 2-0 lead.
The Ducks extended the lead to 4-0 when Hailey Decker hit a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle to score Glasco and Costa, both of whom reached base on singles.
Stanford scored its first and only runs of the series when Haley Snyder hit a two-run blast over the right field fence in the top of the fourth off Oregon pitcher Megan Kleist. Up to that point, Kleist had been cruising through the Stanford lineup by using a devastating drop ball to combine with her fastball and rise ball to stay out of trouble.
“It felt pretty good,” Kleist said. “My drop was working best out of all my pitches — I was a little more wild that I normally am but it’s something to work on in practice this week.”
Oregon responded in the bottom half of the fourth inning with four runs as Gillespie got things started with a single that scored Sammie Puentes. A throwing error on the play also allowed Danica Mercado to scamper home for the 6-2 lead. Udria came up next and slashed a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence for the 8-2 lead.
“Sometimes on the outside… I tend to drive it that way,” Udria said of her homerun power. “I think maturity — really staying in my legs a lot more and getting that extra power.”
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Ducks finished the game in the sixth inning with three runs, all of which came via the homerun. With two outs, Udria hammered a first pitch fastball deep over the right center fence to make the score 9-2. April Utecht, pinch-hitting for Costa, singled up the middle to set the stage for Glasco’s heroics.
In the game, the Ducks pounded out 10 hits with four of them going for extra bases. Udria went 3-for-4 with four RBI’s as the only Duck to record double digit hits.
Kleist got the victory to improve to 10-2 on the year after throwing 5.0 innings and giving up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Glasco threw a perfect sixth inning.
The Ducks go for the series sweep on Saturday when they host Stanford at 12 p.m. at Jane Sanders Stadium.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka
Nikki Udria’s two homeruns lead Oregon to 11-2 victory over Stanford
Ryan Kostecka
March 24, 2016
Nikki Udria (3) gets ready to hit a homer. The No. 4 Oregon Ducks face the Stanford Cardinal in home opener at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on March 25, 2016. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)
0
More to Discover