The second time is a charm for Janell Bergstrom and the Oregon softball team.
After losing Game 1 of a doubleheader, 5-4, to Hawaii (33-23 overall, 13-7 Western Athletic Conference) on Tuesday, Oregon (23-25 overall, 1-14 Pacific-10 Conference) came back for a 5-4 victory of its own, thanks to a walk-off home run from Bergstrom, the Ducks’ left fielder. First baseman Andrea Vidlund scored on Bergstrom’s hit, which was officially ruled a single because Bergstrom and Erin Goodell, who was on first, celebrated before rounding the bases.
“It’s nice to win the second game in the fashion that we won it, but we would have liked to have won both,” Oregon head coach Brent Rincon said.
Bergstrom had a chance to win Game 1 of the doubleheader in the same
fashion as she came up with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but her drive to center was caught by Marie Jackson just short of the wall.
“I was just trying to get a hit,” Bergstrom said. “It’s always tough against (Hawaii) — it’s always close when we play them.”
Freshman Lindsey Kontra started in the circle in the opening game for the Ducks and did not allow a hit until the third inning. Hawaii’s batters found their stroke in the fourth, scoring a run off a single up the middle by Trisha Ramos that scored Kate Judd, who had doubled. The Rainbow Wahine scored on another double and RBI single in the fifth, before tacking on three more in the seventh. Two of Hawaii’s runs in the seventh came on solo home runs by pinch hitter Sheri Oronoz and Jackson.

Kontra finished with no strikeouts and allowed eight hits for four earned runs.
Oregon had base runners in every inning except the sixth but could not push a run across the plate until its four-run seventh. Goodell led off the final frame with a solo blast to left for her second homer of the season.
After Amber Hutchison grounded out to short, Lynsey Haij walked and Jenn Poore singled to left. Alyssa Laux followed with an RBI single up the middle off Oronoz, who had relieved freshman Melissa Coogan. After Vidlund grounded out on a nubber down the first base line, Mari Lyn Petrick doubled scoring Laux and Poore. That was all Oregon could muster as Ashley Richards walked setting the table for Bergstrom’s warning-track fly out.
Connie McMurren threw the second game for Oregon and looked shaky early, allowing three runs in the first on a three-run homer by first baseman Stacey Porter. Hawaii tacked on another run in the second, but was shut down by McMurren the rest of the way. The Oregon senior finished with five strikeouts and three walks, eight hits and four runs allowed in seven innings.
With the game tied at four in the seventh, McMurren allowed a double to Hawaii’s leadoff hitter Natalie Gonzales, who advanced to third on an error credited to Laux while fielding a relay throw from right fielder Rachel Tommasini. With Gonzales on third, consecutive Hawaii hitters grounded to Haij at short. McMurren then intentionally walked Porter and got Ramos to pop to Laux for the final out.