The No. 22 Oregon Ducks (25-15, 11-7 Pac-12) beat the Oregon State Beavers (17-24, 5-11) 11-3 in six innings in a run-rule victory. Oregon’s offense dominated Oregon State the whole game in the blowout to start off the rivalry series with a win.
“Every weekend we go in to win the opener,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “I think it was big to get game one today.”
The Ducks grasped early momentum in their first chance at the plate. Kai Luschar led off with a single, and took second on a single from Ariel Carlson. Carlson and Luschar stole second and third, and a throwing error on the throw to third base allowed Luschar to get home to open the scoring in the game. Carlson was left on base as Oregon took a 1-0 lead into the second inning.
That momentum would carry into the second inning. Katie Flannery was hit by a pitch to get a runner on base early for the Ducks. Tehya Bird doubled down the right field line to put two runners in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt from Paige Sinicki scored Flannery and put Sinicki on base due to a fielder’s choice.
Sinicki stole second, then scored with Bird when Luschar singled. Luschar advanced to second on the throw, then got to third on a sacrifice groundout. She scored her second run of the game on an Emma Kauf single to add another to the total, making the score 5-0 in favor of Oregon.
The Beavers were finally able to respond in the third inning. Maddie Clark doubled to left field to put herself in scoring position. Eliana Gottlieb singled to bring her home to get Oregon State on the board. However, it was the only damage the Beavers were able to do to the lead.
Morgan Scott’s stellar play from the circle helped the Ducks be in position to secure the game in the fifth inning. Kauf doubled to deep right field to start off the inning, then Vallery Wong was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base for Oregon. A few batters later, KK Humphreys hit a three-run homer to bring the Ducks’ advantage to 8-1, putting them one run away from a run-rule victory. However, Oregon State was able to keep the game alive to send the game into the sixth inning.
“The game kinda slowed down for me,” Humphreys said. “It felt slow motion, the ball kinda looked like a beachball for me.”
The Beavers showed that they still had life left in them in the sixth inning. Gottlieb singled to put the first runner on base in the inning. Lici Campbell then hit a two-run homer to close the gap slightly to 8-3. The rally attempt from the Beavers in the sixth inning saw Scott be replaced by Raegan Breedlove in the circle. Breedlove was able to close out the inning without allowing another run.
Oregon took full advantage on its second chance to close the game out early. Luschar was walked, then stole second. That allowed her to score her third run of the game when Kauf singled up the middle. Alyssa Daniell singled to put the winning run on first base. Wong hit a double to deep left field that scored Kauf, but Daniell was thrown out at the plate, keeping Oregon one run short of that magic number. However, the Ducks would not be denied as Wong — who had advanced to third on the throw — got home on a single from Flannery to end the game 11-3.
“She’s just a fearless competitor, she’s not afraid of the moment at all,” Lombardi said about Flannery. “She just keeps getting that experience as a freshman. We’ve basically kinda thrown her into the fire and I think she’s handled it really well.”
Scott earned the win in the game after allowing just three runs and nine hits in 5.1 innings in the circle. On the offensive side, the Ducks were led by Luschar, Kauf and Bird who all recorded multiple hits. Luschar led the team with three runs scored, and Kauf recorded three hits to lead all batters in the game.
“It was huge for us,” Luschar said. “Getting the first one was huge and I think we had a blast. So, it was awesome.”
The second game of the series between Oregon and Oregon State will take place on Saturday, Apr. 20 at 6:00 p.m.
