After a long day of softball, the Ducks managed to remain undefeated, starting with a win over No. 1 UCLA on Sunday. 

In their second game of the day, the Ducks fought hard to improve their record to 9-0 against the unranked Utah Utes.

Samaria Diaz got the nod as the starter for Oregon, facing off against Utah junior Sydney Sandez.

Utah started the scoring in the bottom of the third. Junior Katie Faulk was the first baserunner for the Utes, and after a great catch behind the plate by catcher Terra McGowan, the Utes put another runner on with a single by Jordyn Gasper.

Diaz managed to retire the next batter on a groundout. A two-out, full-count walk forced by Julia Noskin then loaded the bases for Alyssa Barrera. Diaz was able to strike out Barrera, but not before throwing a wild pitch to score pinch-runner Savannah Whatley from third. 

The score was 1-0 with Utah leading as the game entered the fifth. Oregon’s Lexi Wagner led off, with the top of the order to follow. Wagner singled to center to start the inning for the Ducks. In a well-executed play, senior outfielder Haley Cruse laid down a sacrifice bunt. As Cruse dropped down the bunt, Utah had a miscommunication which left third base open for Wagner to take, as there was nobody covering the base. 

Utah third baseman Ellessa Bonstrom made up for her team’s mental error with a great play to get the second out on McGowan.

With two outs and a runner on third, Utah went with the smart play as they intentionally walked Rachel Cid to guarantee a force out at second. With runners on first and third with two outs, cleanup hitter Allee Bunker stepped in, and with one swing of the bat, Bunker tripled to center and gave them a 2-1 lead. 

The inning still wasn’t over, as with two outs, Alyssa Brito hit her second home run of the day (homered against UCLA) to make it 4-1 Oregon. 

The decision to walk Cid proved to be a mistake as Oregon stepped into the driver’s seat. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Oregon brought in pitcher Brooke Yanez, who got the win for them earlier Sunday against UCLA when she had seven strikeouts through the first three innings. Yanez picked up right where she left off, finishing the Utah game with six strikeouts through three innings. 

Oregon’s pitching was solid all around. Diaz finished the day with four innings pitched, two hits allowed and four strikeouts to cap her fourth win this season.

Oregon would go on to win the game 7-2 thanks to three more long balls by Mya Felder, Haley Cruse, and Bunker, who finished the day with three home runs. 

Oregon will play UCLA again tomorrow, March 1, at 10 a.m.