Before the No. 16 Oregon softball team lost two consecutive games for the second time this season Saturday, the Ducks were in the midst of a school-record 14-game winning streak.
But Oregon (17-6) suffered a 2-1 loss Saturday to Coastal Carolina in the Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., to snap the Ducks’ streak.
In the top of the third inning, Coastal Carolina’s Kristina Sheppard hit a two-run home run. In the bottom of the inning, Oregon catcher Jenn Poore scored on a double by shortstop Breanne Sabol to cut the deficit.
The Ducks couldn’t score again, leaving four runners on base.
“We just needed a few more timely hits,” Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. “But I thought our players battled until the end and really believed they could find a way to win. It just didn’t go our way, but I’m pleased with how we continued to fight.”
Team USA gave Oregon its second loss Saturday. It was the first of three consecutive games the Ducks will play against Olympic-qualifying teams.
Team Canada faces Oregon in a doubleheader Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Howe Field.
Team USA beat the Ducks, 7-0. Former Arizona pitcher Jennie Finch and Texas pitcher Cat Osterman combined for a one-hit shutout.
Left fielder Dani Baird accounted for Oregon’s only hit of the game.
Oregon had kept its win streak going through Friday. The Ducks opened their day with a 4-1 win against Jacksonville.
Poore was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a home run in the victory. Infielder Ashley Richards went 2 for 4, while pitcher Amy Harris pitched a complete game, allowing three hits and striking out seven.
“I like the fact that were continuing to play with intensity and not having a let down,” Arendsen said. “We have been playing to win and going out with a lot of fire and confidence.”
In the second inning, second baseman Erin Goodell laid down a successful squeeze bunt that scored freshman Ann Marie Topps. In the fourth, sophomore Beth Boskovich hit her first career triple to score Richards. She then scored on Poore’s home run.
The final win in the Ducks’ win streak was a 9-8 victory Friday against Northwestern.
Goodell hit a single to left field that scored Topps in the bottom of the seventh to give Oregon the victory.
“What a tremendous show of courage by our team today,” Arendsen said. “We never gave up and when we were down we continued to battle. I thought our young players showed great poise and a great ability to keep fighting.”
Oregon was behind 5-0 in the fourth inning when freshman Suzie Barnes hit a two RBI single. The next batter, freshman Kristi Leiter, hit a three-run home run over the right field fence — her first career home run — to tie the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Oregon loaded the bases and scored two runners when Northwestern pitcher Courtney Foster threw two illegal pitches, advancing the runners.
After the doubleheader against Team Canada, Oregon travels to Las Vegas for games Friday and Saturday in the UNLV Tournament.