Senior day for the Oregon softball team saw two seniors step up with big hits, but it was the performance of a junior that shut down Arizona State and catapulted the Ducks to a 3-0 victory at Howe Field on Sunday.
Oregon’s Amy Harris completed a dominant weekend in
the circle with a gutsy, three-hit, nine-strikeout, shutout performance versus the Sun Devils
(28-19 overall, 3-12 Pacific-10 Conference).
It was the end of a fantastic weekend for the Eugene native. Harris (14-10) threw seven shutout innings and struck out 10 while defeating No. 2 Arizona on Friday and tossed an incredible 14 innings without giving up an earned run against the Sun Devils Saturday as the Ducks (29-19, 5-10) lost in 17 innings.
Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen admitted she wasn’t sure whether her ace was
going to be able to go for her
on Sunday.
“My most pleasant news of the day when I arrived at the ball park was when Amy was waiting for me and telling me everything felt great, she got a good night of rest, she feels comfortable and that she wants to go,” the third-year Oregon coach said. “I
questioned her a bit, then I said, ‘You know … she wants the ball and she has pitched brilliant so why not?’
“She didn’t show any fatigue to me and was phenomenal.”
Despite throwing 21 innings in the previous two days, Harris said she had no second thoughts about wanting the ball on Sunday, especially with it being the seniors’ last home Pac-10 game.
“I told (the seniors) I would have pitched with my left arm if I had to to get them the win,”
she said. “It is kind of amazing what you can accomplish when
you are doing something for
your teammates.”
One thing Harris said she
knew going into Sunday’s game
was that she wasn’t going to be at full strength.
“I knew today I couldn’t go out there and try to overpower anyone because I didn’t have the speed,” she said. “It worked for us because being tired makes you a bit more relaxed. Also the balls had more break and I was able to hit my spots.”
Unfortunately for Harris and the rest of the Ducks, the team continued its offensive struggles from the day before against the Sun Devils and couldn’t string anything together until late.
In the bottom of the sixth inning though, seniors Ashley Richards and Erin Goodell came through for the Ducks with clutch hits.
Lovena Chaput led off the inning with a sharp single up the middle. Next, Breanne Sabol reached when Arizona State first baseman Sharee Zaleskimade an error trying to throw out Chaput at second base after Sabol’s sacrifice bunt. With runners on first and second, Sun Devil pitcher Katie Burkhart hit Beth Boskovich in the left
elbow with an 0-2 pitch to load the bases. Arizona State removed Burkhart and inserted its ace,
Desiree Serrano.
Stepping up to the plate next was Richards. The senior catcher drilled a Serrano pitch into the left-center field gap for a double,
scoring two runs to give the Ducks the advantage. It was the
first time Oregon had scored in
16 innings.
After a pop out by Joanna Gail, Goodell collected her second hit of the day with a single up the middle to score Boskovich and give
the Ducks a 3-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Harris shut down the Sun Devils in the seventh inning, striking
out Zaleski, Rhiannon Baca and Michelle Smith in order to end
the game.
“Amy was amazing,” Goodell said. “It is the best performance I have ever seen.”
Next up for the Ducks is their last home game of the season Tuesday against Portland State at 4 p.m.

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