The Ducks met with the team that took them down on Saturday, looking for revenge. They played No. 4 Arkansas in the Fayetteville Regional Final Sunday after staying alive with a win Saturday night, but home runs and errors proved costly. The Ducks fell 9-3, bringing an end to their season.
“I’m really proud of them and things that they’ve done on and off the field,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “I think you learn life through sport, and we’re definitely learning life through sport. Any time things don’t quite go your way, I think something good is coming.”
Freshman Stevie Hansen took the mound once again for Oregon. She retired the first five batters she faced, but the Razorbacks smacked back-to-back homers off her in the second inning.
Faced with a 2-0 deficit, the Ducks struggled to reach base against pitcher Mary Haff. The first six batters all went down, six via strikeout.
Makenna Kliethermes came in for Hansen after a one-out single in the third. She induced a double play ball to end the inning.
The Ducks got their first hit on a one-out single in the third inning by KK Humphreys, but they couldn’t cash in. Kliethermes surrendered another solo homer in the fourth, the third of the game for Arkansas.
With a 3-0 deficit and the end of the season looming, the Ducks roared back in the bottom of the fourth.
A walk from Hanna Delgado and a single by Allee Bunker set things up. Ariel Carlson then hit a ground ball to shortstop that turned into a Little League home run due to a comedy of errors from the Razorbacks. Arkansas’ left fielder and right fielder each made a throwing error as Carlson sprinted around the bases, coming home with the tying run.
The Razorbacks took the lead back in the sixth inning. After a leadoff single, Humphreys made an error to put two runners on. Kliethermes issued a walk to load the bases, and a wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run.
With the bases loaded and two outs, a fly ball bounced off center fielder Jasmine Williams’ glove, allowing three runs to score. The Razorbacks then rubbed salt in Oregon’s wound with a two-run homer that broke it open to 9-3. It was a six-run inning for Arkansas, though only one was earned.
The Ducks put two runners on in the bottom of the sixth, but they couldn’t muster up enough offense to respond to their collapse.
With that, “Version 4” is complete. Oregon’s season came to an end with a 33-19 record as the Ducks were eliminated in the Fayetteville Regional.
“I think what Version 4 did this year and looking into now what Version 5 is going to look like, I’m excited,” Lombardi said. “I’m excited for the athletes that are returning and I’m excited for our athletes that are moving on in that next chapter.”
