In its Pacific-10 Conference home opening game, the Oregon softball team was held hitless by an Oregon State squad ranked No. 14 in the country and a pitcher on top of her game. The Beavers won 1-0.
The no-hitter on Tuesday at Howe Field was the third of sophomore Monica Hoffman’s career, tying her for first all-time at Oregon State. Hoffman, who has not allowed an earned run in her last 33 innings of work, has notched all three no-hitters this season.
The Ducks’ record dipped to 18-12 overall and 0-3 in the Pac-10, while the Beavers improved their record to 30-9 overall (3-0 Pac-10).
Hoffman’s no-hitter actually began on March 16 when the game was postponed due to snow. On that day, after the Beavers’ top half of the first inning, Hoffman got Lynsey Haij to pop out to second, walked Amber Hutchison and then had Alyssa Laux with a 2-1 count when the game was called due to the
wintery conditions.
When the game resumed on Tuesday, Hoffman threw one pitch to Laux to record a strikeout and another to Andrea Vidlund that resulted in a groundout to second and the end of the first inning.
Hoffman allowed only one Oregon baserunner through the remainder of the game — catcher Jenn Poore walked in the fifth inning.
“Just a great pitching performance by Hoffman today,” Oregon head coach Brent Rincon said. “There is a lot of credit that needs to go to her. She kept us off-balance today. She was in command the whole time.”

Oregon senior Connie McMurren kept the Ducks in the game with an outstanding pitching performance of her own, allowing only five hits and one run in a compete-game effort.
“We jumped on her early and got some big hits, but she settled in,” Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker said. “She is a great pitcher. She always throws well against us.”
The Beavers’ lone run came in the second inning when shortstop Kelly
Peterson led the inning off by drawing a walk. She was advanced to second by Jessica King’s sacrifice bunt. Senior Jenni Jodoin drove Peterson in with a hard-hit double to
right-center field.
Oregon State managed to load the bases following Jodoin’s double with a walk and a single, but the Ducks escaped any further damage on the scoreboard by picking off the two Beaver runners on the corners when they strayed off their bases after a pitch temporarily eluded Poore.
Hoffman was steady throughout the ballgame, striking out seven, and only once needed to rely on an outstanding play in the field to preserve her no-hitter. In the Oregon half of the third, Haij hit a quick grounder up the middle, but second baseman Brynnen Guthrie ranged to her right, backhanded the ball and tossed it to Jodoin at first for the final out of the inning.
“I wasn’t having too many problems with too many of my pitches,” Hoffman said. “I felt like I had really good control. (The Ducks) had really good swings — they fouled off a lot of really good pitches. Usually I can throw my changeup more effectively, and they really waited back on that.”
Despite losing the last three games to Oregon State, Rincon is encouraged by how his team is playing.
“We’re right there,” he said. “For us to battle the No. 14 ranked team in the country, it says good things about us as well. I feel like our kids are ready to win in this conference.”