Friday at Howe field, North Dakota State made No. 2 Oregon’s path to the Eugene regional championship rockier than expected. The Oregon lineup didn’t have a hit through three innings and pitcher Cheridan Hawkins gave up a sixth inning two-run home run to Logan Moreland to shorten Oregon’s lead to one run.
“North Dakota State gave us everything we could handle,” Oregon head coach Mike White said.
The Ducks found a way to hold on for the win as No. 2 Oregon defeated North Dakota State 4-3 to advance to the Eugene Regional championship tomorrow at 1 p.m.
“It was overall a great game,” White said, “but we are happy to be in the driver’s seat heading into tomorrow.”
One day after notching 12 strikeouts in a six-inning win, Hawkins struck out 11 batters to improve her record to 29-3. Hawkins threw a complete game, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks.
The Bison struck first when Cheyenne Garcia belted a solo homerun over the left field fence in the first inning for the early lead.
“(Garcia’s) a really good hitter and with something like that, you can’t throw the ball as high as I do,” Hawkins said. “I respect her as a hitter.”
North Dakota State pitcher Krista Menke allowed no hits through the first three innings. Janie Takeda sparked Oregon’s four-run rally in the fourth inning when she got the Ducks’ first hit of the game with a leadoff double. Back-t0-back RBI hits by Jenna Lilley and Hailey Decker and a solo home run from Koral Costa gave the Ducks a 4-0 lead. The home run was Kosta’s 15th of the season.
“We discussed using our slap-game against (Menke) before the game — we stuck with the game plan,” Takeda said.
After giving up the home run to Moreland in the sixth, Hawkins threw a scoreless seventh inning, striking out the final two batters for the win.
“I think everybody gets a little nervous, butterflies in your stomach but there’s never the pressure to perform,” Hawkins said of the close game at the end.
Oregon returns to play tomorrow at 1 p.m with a chance to advance into the super regionals.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter: @Ryan_Kostecka
Oregon challenged in 4-3 win over North Dakota State
Ryan Kostecka
May 14, 2015
Ryan Kang
Friday at Howe field, North Dakota State made No. 2 Oregon’s path to the Eugene regional championship rockier than expected. The Oregon lineup didn’t have a hit through three innings and pitcher Cheridan Hawkins gave up a sixth inning two-run home run to Logan Moreland to shorten Oregon’s lead to one …
0
More to Discover