Oregon’s Lauren Lindvall entered Sunday’s game against Cal with three homeruns on the season. While her batting average sits at .406 on the year, the normally powerful sophomore has struggled to see the ball go over the fence after hitting six homeruns last year.
Lindvall found her power stroke on Sunday as she hit two solo homeruns in Sunday’s 5-2 victory over Cal, Oregon’s 15th win in its last 16 games. Lindvall finished the game by going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI’s.
The Ducks also regained their stellar pitching as Cheridan Hawkins took the pitcher’s circle and threw a complete game gem. She gave up two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. This outing was big psychologically for Oregon as it was tagged for 15 runs yesterday.
After each team put up 15 runs a piece in their previous victory, both offenses started the game stagnant as neither produced a run through the first two innings.
Oregon got the scoring started in the third when Lindvall hit her first solo homerun for the lead. The Ducks added to the lead when Alyssa Gillespie and Nikki Udria had back-to-back infield singles before Gillespie came around to score on a bases loaded walk.
The Ducks added another run in the fourth inning when Lindvall hit her second homerun, this time giving Oregon a 3-0 lead. Cal responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Hawkins was tagged for a two-run blast.
Lindvall once again got Oregon going when she singled in the sixth inning. She came around to core when Jenna Lilley, the next batter, hit a homerun for the eventual 5-2 win.
The Ducks are now one game away from clinching their fourth consecutive Pac-12 Championship. Oregon must win one of it’s final three games against Utah, who is currently in fourth place in the conference standings. First pitch of the three-game series is set for Thursday at 7 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka