Offense was absent all game for the Ducks — 31 at bats produced five hits. Outside of Nikki Udria, nobody seemed able to hit the ball despite facing Washington’s Taran Alvelo for the third day in a row.
The No. 12 Washington Huskies (31-10,8-7) defeated the No. 4 Oregon Ducks (37-4, 10-4) 5-3 on Saturday at Jane Sanders Stadium for the series win. It’s the Ducks second straight series loss, something they haven’t done since 2011.
Oregon entered the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead, but Washington fought back to tie the game.
To leadoff, Ali Aguilar doubled to right center. Sis Bates reached on a Dancia Mercado fielding error while Aguilar advanced to third. One out later, and with Bates on second, Morganne Flores doubled to right center to give the Huskies the two runs they needed to stay alive.
Morganne Flores TIES IT UP with a 2RBI double in the top of the 7th!
Watch: https://t.co/qcjjBLiDnV https://t.co/63kYPqIs0G
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 15, 2017
In the ninth inning, the Huskies were in an advantageous position. They had runners on second and third with no outs and Flores at the plate. One double later, Washington held a 5-3 lead.
BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLES for Morganne!
Morganne Flores knocks in ✌️ to give @UWSoftball a 5-3 lead in the 9th!
https://t.co/SsLKTQZ1ce
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 15, 2017
Through three innings, the Ducks offense was stagnant. After Washington took a 1-0 lead, Udria answered.
Camuso reached first on the first baseman’s fielding error. Then Udria hit her ninth home run of the season to right center field, and Oregon had a 2-1 lead.
HOME RUN ALERT! 💯
Nikki Udria puts the Ducks on top 2-1!
Watch: https://t.co/qcjjBLiDnV https://t.co/N1zTd2EX5d
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 15, 2017
Udria added another RBI in the sixth inning. With Jenna Lilley on second base, Udria smacked the ball to center field to drive in Lilley and give her a team leading 43 RBIs. Udria finished the day 3-for-3 with three RBIs, a double and one home run. She was able to take advantage of Alvelo’s third appearance, reaching base for the 35th straight game.
“It’s game three,” Udria said. “They know your weaknesses, you know their weaknesses. It’s what you got and what I got.”
Overall, Oregon was frustrated with the lack of offense over the series. Facing the same pitcher three days in a row should give a team a clue on how to hit her. Outside of Udria and Camuso, nobody could.
“I am totally disappointed, very disappointed,” head coach Mike White said. “We worked all week on [Alvelo]. … There were no surprises on what was coming out there, it was the same pitch.”
Added White: “I had a thing last year where I tended to talk to a pet rock because I thought the rock listened more than my players, and I’m starting to think the same thing is happening right now.”
Alvelo finished with nine innings pitched, allowing five hits, three runs with 12 strikeouts and four walks. She threw 162 pitches.
Miranda Elish, Maggie Balint and Megan Kleist pitched for Oregon. Kleist (13-2) got the loss after allowing Washington to tie the game in the seventh and win it in the ninth.
The loss makes winning the Pac-12 a difficult task going forward. No. 2 Arizona is pulling away while Utah and Washington continue to climb up the standings.
Oregon will play No. 2 Arizona in its next series which starts on Friday in Tuscon.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917
