The No. 25 Oregon Ducks (9-6) were able to pick up a pair of wins with a 8-2 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-5) in the first game and an 11-4 victory over the Long Beach State Dirtbags (1-10) during the second day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The Ducks started to get the offense going early in the 2nd inning. Ariel Carlson got on base with a single, and after stealing second, was quickly brought home by Emma Kauf two batters later to get on the board. Oregon got two more hits from Paige Sinicki and Kai Luschar to load the bases before Notre Dame was able to get the final out of the inning.
Vallery Wong and Carlson helped the Ducks pick up right where they left off in the previous inning. The pair hit back-to-back home runs to extend the lead to 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning. On the other side, the Fighting Irish got their first hit of the game in the bottom of the 3rd, but were unable to build upon the hit as they went scoreless into the 4th.
By this point of the game, Oregon had its foot firmly on the gas, and was showing no signs of taking it off. Luschar and Hanna Delgado both hit singles and Alyssa Daniell was walked to load the bases with just one out in the inning. Then Carlson hit a double, her third hit in as many at bats, to bring home three runs to make the score 6-0.
Not wanting to go down without a fight, Notre Dame got a home run from Addison Amaral just four pitches into the bottom of the 4th. However, Morgan Scott was able to shut down the attempt at a rally before it was truly able to begin, striking out two of the next four batters and allowing only a single in the middle of the two outs.
If there was any hope left in the Fighting Irish of a late comeback, those hopes were squashed in the top of the 5th. After Notre Dame was able to get two outs without allowing any runners to get on base, Sinicki got to first on a walk, then to second as Luschar got her third hit of the game. Both were brought home on a double from Delgado, which made her the third Duck to reach three hits against the Fighting Irish, that brought the lead to 8-1 heading into the bottom of the 5th.
Notre Dame was able to make the final score look a little better thanks to a double from Carlli Kloss, who got home after a single from Karina Gaskins. However, it did little to shake the Ducks. Taylour Spencer came in to pitch the 6th and 7th innings and faced just six batters as she recorded two straight 1-2-3 innings to end the game. Spencer threw just 14 pitches against those six batters, wasting no time ending the game. Scott, who earned the win, allowed just five hits in her five innings on the mound.
Oregon carried that momentum into its second game, getting a single from Delgado then a home run from Wong in the 1st inning. Stevie Hansen took the mound to start the game and recorded a third straight 1-2-3 inning for Oregon in the bottom of the 1st.
Four hits in the 2nd inning broke the streak of perfect innings, and resulted in three runs for the Dirtbags, giving the Ducks their first deficit of the day 3-2. Spencer was brought back in to pitch for Hansen during the stretch.
That deficit would not last long. Sinicki and Luschar both got on base, then were brought home by a double from Carlson. A sac-fly from Wong helped Carlson get home, then Daniell hit a home run to close out the scoring outburst. Oregon’s lead was 6-3 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning, and Long Beach State was never able to recover.
Spencer allowed just three hits in the next four innings. During that time the Ducks got a second home run of the game from Daniell in the top of the 5th. The top of the 6th saw Sinicki, Luschar and Delgado load the bases before Carlson hit a grand slam, her second home run of the day after hitting one against Notre Dame as well.
Spencer ended up pitching 6.0 innings in the second game, and allowed just three hits to get the win. Overall, she pitched 8.0 innings between the two games with just the three hits allowed.
Against the Dirtbags, Sinicki became the fourth Duck to record three hits in a game in the double-header, joining Luschar, Delgado and Carlson who all had three hits against Notre Dame. After being out-hit by its opponents during the opening day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Oregon recorded 25 hits in the game, while allowing just 12 hits to Long Beach State and the Fighting Irish combined.
The Ducks have just one game remaining in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. They will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24.
