No. 22 Oregon opened the Pacific-10 Conference season with a win for the first time since 1998 on Saturday, taking out No. 17 Oregon State, 10-2, in Corvallis.
The Ducks (17-6, 1-0 Pac-10) scored three runs in three consecutive innings in their first win over the Beavers (19-10, 0-1) since sweeping a doubleheader in the 1999 season.
“This was a phenomenal team effort,” head coach Kathy Arendsen said. “We had some very clutch hitting — especially from Erin Goodell — and our defense carried us the rest of the way. I am extremely pleased with our effort and to be 1-0 in the Pac-10.”
Goodell, a sophomore, was two for three with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored. The home runs were the infielder’s first of the season and matched her home run total from last season.
“We just came out very confident today,” Goodell said. “We knew we could win, and we wanted to start off the Pac-10 with a win. Everything just felt right and we were clicking on both offense and defense. It feels awesome.”
Oregon scored its first run of the game in the fourth inning on a two-out double by senior centerfielder Janelle Bergstrom that scored junior catcher Jenn Poore. Goodell followed with her first home run of the game to left field.
The Ducks loaded the bases in the fifth inning, adding three runs to take a 6-0 lead.
Oregon State scored its first run of the game in the fifth inning on an infield groundout.
In the sixth inning, Oregon scored three more runs, including a leadoff home run by Goodell.
A single in the bottom of the sixth scored the Beavers’ second and final run of the game.
Oregon added a run in the seventh inning, finishing with 10 runs and tying a season high with 13 hits.
Freshman Amy Harris pitched her fifth complete game of the season, bumping her record to 6-4 and striking out five batters. Harris now has 75 strikeouts on the season and a 0.93 ERA.
Senior outfielder Amber Hutchinson was four for five with two runs scored and an RBI while Bergstrom went two for two with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Freshman rightfielder Beth Boskovich went three for four with a double and an RBI. Boskovich leads the squad with a .359 batting average.
“Unfortunately we didn’t bring our game today,” Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker said. “They played well, they pitched well and they hit well. We just didn’t play our game — it was a very disappointing home opener.”
The Ducks are already halfway to matching their conference win record for last season. Oregon won only two Pac-10 games last season, a 4-2 victory against Arizona State and a 4-0 win over Stanford.
Harris improved to 3-1 against ranked opponents while Oregon is now 5-1 against teams in the top 25.
Oregon played in front of 708 people, the largest crowd to see the Ducks play so far this season.
The game against Oregon State was the Ducks’ first game in their home state this season. Oregon and Portland State were scheduled to play a doubleheader Thursday, but the games were postponed until April because of inclement weather.
The next top 25 poll comes out Tuesday. The Ducks are sure to improve their No. 22 ranking and the Beavers will probably drop from No. 17.
The Ducks travel to Fort Collins, Colo., for a doubleheader Sunday against Colorado State and a single game against the Rams the next day. Oregon plays its next conference game on March 28 at Arizona State.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer for the Emerald.