Oregon head coach Brent Rincon said that the implications of the loss to Hawaii in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader were “enormous.”
If the Ducks (23-25 overall, 1-14 Pacific-10 Conference) had swept the two-game set with the Rainbow Wahine, they could have entered the upcoming weekend with UCLA and Washington with a 24-24 record.
With five games remaining on their regular season schedule, all against Pac-10 teams, it seems unlikely that Oregon will reach its goal of a .500 season — and likely miss out on a postseason bid for the second straight year.
One factor that contributed to Oregon’s loss — and near loss in the second game — in the doubleheader against Hawaii was poor baserunning. Along with the runner interference call that changed Janell Bergstrom’s game-winning home run into a controversial over-the-fence single, Oregon ran into another out in the fifth inning of Game 1.
With two outs, Jenn Poore on second and Alyssa Laux on first, Andrea Vidlund roped a single. From the third base coach’s box, Rincon held Poore at third on the sharply hit ball, but Laux and Vidlund continued on, trapping three Oregon runners between second and third. Poore broke for home but was tagged out to end the inning.
“I’m pleased with the big-time hitting by Janell and the fact that we were able to keep battling when we were down,” Rincon said. “But there’s no excuse for poor baserunning, and we’ve got to pay attention to every detail no matter what the situation is.”

Around the Pac-10
The latest USA Today/NFCA Division I top-25 poll came out on Monday and the Pac-10 still reigns.
UCLA, who Oregon faces this weekend, is a unanimous selection for the No. 1 spot in the nation. Rounding out the top-5 are No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 California. Oregon remains the only Pac-10 team without a ranking as Washington — Oregon’s other upcoming weekend opponent — jumps up two spots to No. 6. That bumps Stanford down one slot to No. 8, and Oregon State remains steady at No. 16.
No. 1 UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman and Keira Goerl swept the Pac-10’s Pitcher and Player of the Week awards for April 29. Goerl threw her fifth no-hitter of the season, and Nuveman hit .667 for the week, while connecting for her 85th career home run to tie the NCAA record.