After a disheartening trip to Berkeley last weekend, the No. 19 Oregon softball team bounced back in a big way to sweep Oregon State in a three-game series at Howe Field this weekend.
While Oregon (33-11, 5-7 Pacific-10 Conference) could only muster two runs in three games at Cal, the Ducks’ offense erupted as they cruised to a 7-1 win in Thursday’s opener, a 7-4 win on Friday night, and an 8-1 victory in the series cap on Saturday afternoon.
With the team earning its first series sweep over Oregon State since the 1994 season, second-year head coach Mike White was even more pleased with where his squad now sits in the Pac-10 standings with just three weeks remaining in league play.
“With five wins we’re already like three or four out of the lead of the conference,” White said. “Everyone’s going to beat up on each other — obviously a big series coming up against Arizona this week — but yeah it keeps us in the hunt.
“We want to try and finish at least in the top half of the conference and that’s a good bounce back for us.”
In Saturday’s 8-1 victory, Oregon used a big first inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead and provide starting pitcher Jessica Moore a little more breathing room than she’s been accustomed to in 2011.
The Ducks used back-to-back home runs for just the second time this season to gain the early edge, with seniors Monique Fuiava and Kaitlin Vitek each hitting home runs in the bottom of the first to put Oregon on top 3-0.
Fuiava’s round-tripper was her seventh of the season, which moved her into a tie for sixth all-time on Oregon’s career list (26) with former Duck Lindsey Welch. Vitek’s blast was her third solo shot in as many games, and moved her into a tie with teammate Kelsey Chambers for the team season lead a eight homers each.
For Moore, who improved to 17-6 after striking out two, walking three and allowing three hits in her five innings of work, having a little more wiggle room in the circle is always helpful.
“It’s huge, especially going into next week,” Moore said of the series win. “We beat up on them pretty bad. Our hitters did a lot better job; we kind of went in with plans. We need to take that into next weekend, and it’s just kind of a big confidence-builder.”
Moore also picked up the victory in game one with a complete game effort, though both she and White agreed her best stuff wasn’t there on Saturday.
“She bears down,” White said. “She tends to throw a lot of pitches, and sometimes when her game’s off just a little bit — and it was off just a little bit (Saturday) — she’s not quite as dominating. But I commended her for hanging tough, working hard through those sticky situations and letting our defense take care of business.”
For the weekend as a whole, Oregon’s offense got a boost of confidence after a strong showing from the middle of the lineup, which had been absent in resent outings.
Freshman leadoff hitter Courtney Ceo continued her torrid pace at the top of the lineup, finishing the weekend 4 for 8 with four walks, four runs scored, and four RBI.
Meanwhile, No. 3 hitter Samantha Pappas went 4 for 9 with a three RBI and two runs scored, cleanup hitter Fuiava went 4 for 11 with four RBI and three runs scored, and Vitek followed up with a 3-for-7 showing with two walks, four RBI and three runs scored.
Further down in the lineup, the Ducks continued to see solid production, particularly from freshman catcher Alexa Peterson who went 4 for 8 with a pair of doubles, three RBI and three runs scored over the winning weekend.
“I’ve really like our balance throughout our squad this year,” White said. “We have a little more depth. We’re able to produce runs throughout the lineup; it’s not always the top.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s matchup in Tucson, Ariz., the Wildcats (36-11, 7-5 Pac-10) are coming off a three-game losing skid at the hands of Arizona State (42-5, 9-3 Pac-10). Game one of that series is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.
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Oregon softball sweeps Oregon State for first time since 1994
Daily Emerald
April 23, 2011
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