With a single swing, Lovena Chaput gave Oregon hope of an upset over the No. 3 team in the nation.
The senior shortstop crushed a first-pitch offering from UCLA ace Anjelica Selden over the scoreboard in right field in the fourth inning.
“It was in my money zone,” Chaput said.
The hit placed an Oregon softball team looking for more wins to confirm their spot in the NCAA Tournament. But with Chaput’s home run the lone Oregon hit, UCLA was able to escape with a 3-1 win at Howe Field.
The game featured a pitcher’s duel between aces Anjelica Selden and Oregon’s Alicia Cook. Through three innings, both team’s were hitless and scoreless.
By game’s end, Selden had tossed a one-hitter, while Cook had thrown a three-hitter. Selden threw 13 strikeouts and twice struck out the side. Cook had six strikeouts of her own.
With Oregon’s hitting absent, the Ducks (32-25, 4-14 Pacific-10 Conference) couldn’t take advantage of Cook’s performance.
“I thought we were going to do it,” Chaput said. “I thought it was going to hold. We had the pitching. Alicia pitched an amazing game and I thought it was going to work out, but we slipped.”
UCLA’s GiOnna DiSalvatore scored the tying run in the fifth inning after moving around the bases on a single, hit by pitch and fly ball. A groundout by Jennifer Schroeder brought DiSalvatore home.
In the sixth inning, Krista Colburn opened with a walk. Ashley Herrera laid down a bunt, but catcher Ashley Kivett’s throw to Cortney Kivett, who was covering at first, was dropped, placing runners at first and third with no outs.
Amanda Kamekona’s double to right scored Colburn and gave UCLA (44-6, 16-3 Pac-10) a 2-1 lead. UCLA tacked on a third run with a rocket shot from Samantha Camuso that bounced off Joanna Gail to a nearby Chaput, who forced out a UCLA runner at third but allowed Kamekona to score.
“What a shame,” coach Kathy Arendsen said. “We got a great pitching performance and we didn’t support it with defense when we really needed it and we certainly didn’t hit so give a lot of credit to an outstanding All-American pitcher (in Selden).
“But shoot, we left some opportunities there.”
Krista Colburn hit a grounder towards Chaput in the third that the senior fielded and threw over first baseman Carlyn Re and into the Bruins dugout. The error placed Colburn at second with no outs. Cook answered by inducing two groundballs and a flyout to end the threat.
Oregon’s down to its final three games, including a doubleheader today starting at 1:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be hard,” Chaput said. “One Pac-10 game drains me emotionally and physically so two is definitely going to be a test.”
All three are against Washington, Oregon’s rivals to the north, who the Ducks haven’t seen yet this season because the first game in Seattle was snowed out at the end of March.
No. 24 Washington fell to Oregon State Thursday in Corvallis when Cambria Miranda hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Counting Thursday’s loss, the Huskies have won just two of their last 13 games.
“Nobody really likes a doubleheader to be honest, but the good thing is that we’re at home,” Sari-Jane Jenkins said. “We’re still feeling good. We’re not going to let (Thursday) put us back down.”
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