The No. 21 Oregon women’s softball team didn’t finish the Campbell/Cartier Classic this weekend.
Four games Saturday, and all of Sunday’s action, were canceled due to heavy rains that turned the San Diego fields into unplayable mud.
Despite the early ending, the Ducks (8-4) finished the tournament as one of three teams — joining Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State — to go undefeated in the games that were played Friday and Saturday.
After winning the last two games of its previous tournament, Oregon spent the week leading up to the Campbell/Cartier Classic talking about keeping the momentum going.
The Ducks did just that with a 4-2 victory against Hawaii to open their play Friday.
“We’re starting to put together back-to-back wins, and I’m very pleased about that,” Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. “The big key is to come back against a good Fresno State team and continue to build momentum. We have to continue to get better and improve with each game.”
Catcher Jenn Poore in the fifth inning hit her second home run of the season. The senior went 2 for 4 in the victory.
Fellow senior Anissa Meashintubby picked up the win to improve to 2-1 this season.
Oregon faced No. 16 Fresno State on Friday afternoon and did something the Ducks had yet to do this season: win two games in the same day. The Ducks grabbed a 1-0 victory against the Bulldogs.
Pitcher Ani Nyhus, a transfer junior, pitched a complete game for the win, giving up five hits and striking out six.
“I felt really confident tonight because my defense was really behind me,” Nyhus said. “They made huge plays all game and our offense (stepped up) in the seventh inning and I just wanted to win the game for us. I didn’t want to let anyone get on base or let them take the momentum from us.”
The win belonged to the team’s newcomers. Freshman Kayleen Hudson drove classmate Ann Marie Topps in the top of the seventh for the game’s only run.
“This is a huge win for us,” Arendsen said. “We were able to put together a tremendous pitching effort and got some key hits when we needed them. The biggest thing is winning back-to-back games on the same day. It’s great to finally get over that hump. I thought this was a very positive day for our team.”
Without knowing it was their final game of the weekend, the Ducks closed the tournament with a 3-0 victory against Sacramento State. Third baseman Ashley Richards hit her third home run of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Poore and shortstop Breanne Sabol.
Meashintubby improved her record to 3-1 with a 5-and-a-third-inning outing. She struck out a career-high nine batters.
“What a tremendous outing by pitcher Anissa Meashintubby and our defense,” Arendsen said. “And, offensively, we were able to come through when we needed to.”
Oregon finished the tournament 3-0. Long Beach State was also 3-0 and Cal State Northridge, who the Ducks beat in the previous weekend’s Fiesta Bowl Tournament, finished 4-0.
The Ducks travel to Texas for the Texas A&M “Aggie III” Tournament for five games beginning Friday. Oregon plays two games against both Penn State and Southern Mississippi and one game against Texas A&M. The Ducks lost to the Aggies one week ago.