The No. 25 Oregon Ducks (12-8) were able to get revenge against the Maryland Terrapins (6-12) with a 4-2 win to close out the Jane Sanders Classic. After being shut out by the Terrapins on Friday, the Ducks were able to get their offense going enough to capitalize on a strong defensive performance. The win brings Oregon to an overall record of 3-1 during the Jane Sanders Classic, and drops Maryland to a 1-3 record on the weekend.
The Ducks got started early after being shut out in the previous meeting between the two teams. The bottom of the 1st opened with a Kai Luschar leadoff single. Ariel Carlson walked shortly after. Both advanced to third and second respectively on a wild pitch, setting up Luschar to get home on a sacrifice from Alyssa Daniell to give Oregon an early 1-0 lead.
Taylour Spencer took the mound to start the game for the Ducks, and she was able to shut down the Terrapins early. She allowed just one hit in the top of the 1st and 2nd innings to help Oregon get a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the 2nd.
That chance was not squandered as the Ducks’ offense showed that they were now fully awake after the poor showing in the last game. Hanna Delgado began the inning with a single, and Ayanna Shaw reached base after being hit by a pitch to give Oregon two baserunners. Both advanced on a sacrifice before a double from Paige Sinicki brought them home. Sinicki took advantage of a fielding error to get score shortly after, making the Ducks’ lead 4-0 after just two innings.
After a 1-2-3 top of the 3rd, Spencer finally made her first mistakes in the game. Maryland’s Diamond Williams and Jaeda McFarland hit a pair of home runs to put the first — and only — runs on the board for the Terrapins. Stevie Hansen came in to replace Spencer after the home runs. Maryland managed to close the gap to 4-2 heading into the bottom of the 4th.
Starting with Oregon, the next few innings became a pitching duel, with neither side able to get any offense going. Bri Godfrey, who started the game for the Terrapins, was pulled to start the bottom of the 4th. Courtney Wyche replaced Godfrey and built on her strong performance from the day before.
After a single from Luschar in the 4th inning, Wyche pitched two straight 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the 5th and 6th innings to try to give her team a chance to come back. However, on the other side, Hansen was able to shut out Maryland for the rest of the game.
Hansen earned the win in the game after pitching 3.2 innings and allowing just two hits. The final two innings saw just three Terrapins get on base, with one being walked and two being hit by pitches. The Oregon defense was stifling down the stretch, making up for the offense, which seemed to have lost its momentum following the pitching change.
The Ducks managed just five hits on the day, but were able to capitalize on almost every one of them. Oregon left just three runners on base. The Terrapins were able to manage just three hits outside of the two home runs. The lack of momentum on offense led to Maryland being unable to break through the Ducks’ defense when Oregon was able to keep the ball in the park.
Luschar was the only Duck to record more than one hit. Despite the win, it was another subpar showing from the Oregon offense. The Ducks were able to score early, but were completely shut down offensively in the final four innings of the game.
Oregon will stay in Eugene to match up with the California Golden Bears in the first series of Pac-12 conference play. The Ducks and Golden Bears will play their first game of the series on Friday, March 8 at 6:00 p.m.
