Chalk up three more losses in the Pacific-10 Conference for the Oregon softball team.
Oregon fell 2-1 to No. 1 UCLA (47-6 overall, 15-3 Pac-10) on Friday, 6-2 to No. 6 Washington (41-16, 10-8) on Saturday and 8-0 to the Huskies on Sunday. The Ducks’ record falls to 23-28 overall and 1-17 in the Pac-10.
The three-game set at Howe Field was Oregon’s final homestand of the season and the last games for seniors Connie McMurren and Kristi Hall in front of the Eugene crowd. The 8-0 five-inning game (shortened by the eight-run mercy rule) was not an ideal send-off for Oregon’s two seniors Sunday.
“We were so emotional about those kids’ final day, and we wanted to do so well that once we got started, we kind of got paralyzed by our own emotion,” head coach Brent Rincon said. “One of the marks of this team all year is that even through the difficulties we’ve played hard and we’ve played with passion and today we lacked those things. Washington is a great ball club — I put them right up there with UCLA and Arizona as the toughest teams we’ve played all year and in some ways they are more explosive than UCLA. They are on fire right now.”
Freshman Mari Lyn Petrick was the only Oregon batter to get a hit off of Washington’s combined pitching effort of Tia Bollinger and Leslie Scott.
McMurren started the game in the circle for the Ducks but only lasted three and a third innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out one. McMurren’s record dropped to 8-11.
Connie McMurren pitches her final game at Howe Field on Sunday – a 8-0 loss to No. 6 Washington.
One of the Eugene native’s losses came on Friday against UCLA, where she pitched one of her best games of the season. The Bruins jumped on McMurren early scoring a run in the first. Except for a solo home run off the bat of Tairia Mims in the third, McMurren shut down the potent UCLA offensive attack. She finished with eight strikeouts to go along with five walks, six hits and two runs allowed.
Oregon struggled offensively against UCLA’s ace pitcher Keira Goerl, who improved to 25-4. Early in the contest, Goerl retired 10 consecutive Oregon hitters, including striking out the side in the third. She finished with seven strike outs and no walks, while allowing six hits and one unearned run.
The Ducks finally broke through with a run in the bottom of the seventh when Janell Bergstrom led the final frame off with a hard-hit double to right center. She was advanced to third when Petrick, who was pinch-hitting, followed with a single to left. Bergstrom scored during the following at bat when Bruin catcher Stacey Nuveman let a pitch get by her. Oregon failed to knock Petrick in from second as Rachel Tommasini grounded out to second and Amber Hutchison grounded to Goerl.
“We played with the kind of passion and competitiveness that is takes to play in big games like that, and then Washington comes in and we don’t play nearly with the same passion that we took to the UCLA game,” Rincon said.
Hall, who struck out and popped out to the shortstop on Sunday, said that her final game at Howe Field left her feeling “bitter sweet.”
Washington is “an incredible team, but we didn’t play to our potential — we didn’t make the hits and we didn’t do what was necessary to win,” she said. “It’s a good feeling ending my four years, but kind of bitter sweet knowing that we weren’t as successful as we should have been.
“I’m very proud to be on this team. Whether we win or lose I love playing with this team. It’s different going out like this. … There is no other team I would rather go out with.”
Hall and McMurren have three games remaining in their collegiate career as Oregon travels to play California on Friday and Stanford in a doubleheader on Saturday.
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