The first win of the season is always a hard one to come by, the Ducks got it out of the way early on Friday.
Kai Luschar’s two RBIs and Taylour Spencer’s 4.1 innings of relief propelled the Ducks to a 5-3 victory over Kansas in Oregon’s (1-1) second game of the 2024 season and NFCA Leadoff Classic.
After both teams left runners on base in the opening frames, Luschar drove in Vallery Wong on a second-inning infield-single to get the scoring going for the day.
For the entirety of Spencer’s outing, it looked like that would be all the Ducks would need.
“We have one freshman in Taylour Spencer, which I think is great,” Lombardi said at media day of Spencer. “She doesn’t have to come in as a freshman and take on this major load, just come in and do your part.”
Spencer did her part, and then some as she kept the Jayhawks off-balance throughout allowing just five hits over the 18 batters she faced.
Raegan Breedlove started the game in the circle for Oregon but got into trouble in the second inning, allowing runners to get on second and third. Spencer relieved Breedlove and promptly got the Ducks out of the inning with a fly-out to right field.
With the score still 1-0, and Spencer still dominating, Georgia Tech-transfer Emma Kauf threw out her first runner as a Duck.
Luschar and Hannah Delgado began the fifth inning with singles and advanced to second and third with aggressive baserunning. With the runners in scoring position, Kauf hit a ground ball to Kansas infielder Sara Roszak. Roszak’s throw home beat Luschar to the plate, but Kansas catcher Lyric Moore was called for interference.
Following a Kauf fielder’s-choice, Oregon tacked on two more runs both coming via sac-fly.
Luschar’s sixth-inning ground-out scored pinch-runner Regan Legg to extend the Ducks’ lead to five.
In the seventh inning, Spencer’s day came to an end after she allowed Aynslee Limbaugh to reach base with a double. Morgan Scott relieved Spencer, but promptly allowed an RBI single and two-run homerun to cut Oregon’s lead to just two.
It was too little too late for the Jayhawks who finished the game hitting just 4-19 with runners in scoring position. Scott recovered from the Jayhawks’ bomb by getting cleanup-hitter Olivia Bruno to pop out to end the game.
Spencer recorded the first strikeout and win of her Ducks career.
Oregon will take on Liberty in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader.
