Oregon entered Saturday’s game against Cal needing a victory to reduce its magic number to one to clinch the the Ducks’ fourth consecutive Pac-12 Championship.
The Golden Bears had other plans in mind.
The Ducks surrendered 16 hits and committed four errors in their 15-4 loss to Cal, dropping Oregon to 41-7 on the season and 17-3 in the Pac-12. It was the Ducks’ first conference loss since dropping two of three to UCLA in the beginning of April.
Oregon came into the game outscoring its opponents 58-2 over the previous five games but that same offensive firepower combined combined with precision pitching eluded the Ducks all afternoon.
Megan Kleist got the start in the pitcher’s circle and had her worst outing of the year. She lasted 1.2 innings, giving up 11 runs (eight earned) on 11 hits with three strikeouts. She was replaced by Geri Ann Glasco, who threw the final 2.1 innings, giving up four runs (all earned) on five hits with three strikeouts.
The Ducks offense got going to start the game as they put up a three spot in the first inning. Nikki Udria got the scoring started when she hit a solo homerun with two outs. Two batters later, Glasco came up and hit another two-out blast to give Oregon an early 3-0 lead.
However, the Golden Bears responded with seven runs in the bottom of the first to regain the lead.
Cal added to its lead with a solo blast in the bottom of the third inning. Not to be outdone, the Ducks got back that run when Gwen Svekis hit her 12th homerun of the season.
Cal put the game away for good when it scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning for the 11-run lead. Oregon had a chance to continue the game in the top of the fifth but nothing came of it.
The Ducks have a chance to win the series tomorrow when they play Cal for the final time this season. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka