There are days the Ducks have to grind out wins, the way they did against the San Diego Toreros on Friday to grab a tight, comeback victory.
Then, there are days like Saturday’s matinee against that same Toreros squad when No.14 Oregon (17-1) attacks an opposing pitcher, takes a sizable early lead, then shifts into cruise control, turning stress-free wins into somewhat of a routine affair early on this season.
Indeed, the Ducks’ 6-0 Saturday win over San Diego (8-13) featured all of those familiar, one-sided hallmarks.
Oregon exploded for three runs in the second inning, keyed by a string of three-straight hits that included a homer from Paige Sinicki. Then, the Ducks turned the keys over to starter Lyndsey Grein and got a dominant outing from the right-hander while continuing to pile on offensively.
Grein (11-0, 11 strikeouts on the night) was the star of the game, rebounding from a wobbly outing in Game One of the Oregon Classic to quiet the Toreros’ bats and give the rest of the Ducks’ arms a game off.
Oregon added on in the fourth and fifth, tallying three combined runs on a sac-fly, Dez Patmon home run and a Sinicki double.
Still, Oregon was just 2-8 with runners in scoring position, 1-6 to begin innings and bailed the Toreros out of a fourth-inning jam with a baserunning obstruction.
In the end, though, anything more productive would have been superfluous for the Ducks who hold the best nonconference record in the Big Ten and lost their lone game of the season by a run in extra innings.
McCoy blasted her ninth homer of the year for the Ducks who had six players tally hits. Sinicki finished the game 2-3 with two RBI’s and played terrific defense at shortstop.
With the win over the Toreros, Oregon went 2-0 in its two true tests of the weekend. Two games remain, both against a Loyola Chicago (3-13, lost to San Diego 9-1 on Friday) team that can’t be expected to compete with a nationally-ranked school.
The Ducks and Ramblers will face off at 6 p.m Saturday and then at 1 p.m Sunday afternoon.
