The margin of error is very slim against a top-10 team.
Mistakes were costly for No. 23 Oregon (27-17, 12-9 Pac-12) in its 7-3 loss to No. 6 Stanford (41-11, 16-6 Pac-12) on Friday night.
The Ducks’ pitching staff was nowhere close to the near-perfect game required to deliver a win. Three home runs and 10 hits allowed equated to seven runs and the win for the Cardinal.
Oregon took the first lead of the game in the second inning. It got it on the board with a solo home run by freshman Katie Flannery. She was the lone bright spot for the Ducks, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Shortstop Paige Sinicki drove in the second run of the second inning as Oregon worked to load the bases. Sinicki scored as a Ducks’ hitter was hit by pitch for the second at-bat in a row.
But Stanford responded.
Outfielder Kai Luschar didn’t get a good read on a ball to left field and two runs came home for the Cardinal. Starter Morgan Scott eventually worked out of the inning, but not before giving up the game-tying RBI single.
The Ducks didn’t record a hit in the third. Against a highly ranked team like the Cardinal, an offensive lull can be detrimental.
And it didn’t take long for Stanford to record two solo homers. The Cardinal wouldn’t look back after it took its first lead of the night.
Scott pitched only 2.2 innings for Oregon. She began with two strikeouts and allowed only one hit in the first inning, but would go on to give up five runs in the game. Stevie Hansen came in relief for Scott and recorded a strikeout for the final out of the third.
Hansen gave up a two-RBI homer that blasted into right field in the fourth. Otherwise, the Ducks’ defense fared well with Hansen — and later Raegan Breedlove — inside the circle.
Oregon simply couldn’t generate the offense to come back against Stanford. The Cardinal made all the right reads to limit the Ducks to only four hits in the final five frames — including a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
The Ducks have an opportunity to battle back in the series with two games left to play. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday. Then, they’ll stay in the Bay Area to prepare for the Pac-12 Tournament next week.
