The No. 24 Oregon Ducks (20-12, 7-4 Pac-12) lost the second game of the series 6-3 against the No. 14 UCLA Bruins (20-8, 6-2 Pac-12) to drop their first series of Pac-12 Conference play. Oregon lagged behind for most of the game before the Bruins put the game out of reach with a grand slam in the fourth inning.

Elise Sokolsky started the game in the circle for the Ducks, and quickly allowed UCLA to jump out to a lead. The Bruins’ Jadelyn Allchin singled to get on base, then stole second. That allowed her to score the first run of the game on a fielding error from Oregon. UCLA loaded the bases with just one out with a pair of hits, but the Ducks were able to get out of the inning without allowing further damage.

However, that did not stop the Bruins from using the second inning to build on to their lead. UCLA recorded two hits to start the inning before Allchin recorded her second hit of the game, this time an RBI single to make the Bruins’ lead 2-0. That ended Sokolsky’s game early as she was replaced by Stevie Hansen after allowing six hits and two runs in just 1.1 innings of work. Hansen was able to close out the inning.

Oregon was able to respond by getting on the board in the third inning. Kai Luschar got on base with a single, then Ariel Carlson brought her home with a double right after. The Ducks were unable to help Carlson, making her the third Oregon runner left on through the first three frames..

Although the Ducks gained momentum in the third, UCLA made sure that its lead was safe with a massive fourth inning. Hansen allowed a hit, walked a batter and hit a batter with a pitch to load the bases. The Bruins’ Megan Grant hit a grand slam to right field to put UCLA in full control of the game with a 6-1 lead.

Raegan Breedlove took over for Oregon, ending Hansen’s game with four hits and four runs allowed in her 2.1 innings. Breedlove was able to hold the Bruins to just one hit in her 2.1 innings, but the Ducks were unable to make up the difference on the scoreboard as the game went into the seventh inning with Oregon still trailing by an abundance of runs.

The Ducks finally came alive on offense in the final frame. After the Ducks’ first two hitters were retired, Oregon’s Vallery Wong and Katie Flannery managed to get on base to give the Ducks life. KK Humphreys hit a single to advance Flannery to second and bring Wong home. A walk from UCLA’s Kaitlyn Terry loaded the bases for Oregon put the tying run at the plate.

Hanna Delgado kept the momentum firmly with the Ducks as she singled to bring Flannery home. Unfortunately for Oregon, the rally ended when Luschar popped up in the infield. Despite making a late push, the Ducks’ efforts were too little, too late as they fell 6-3.

Oregon’s offense was strong in the loss, but lacked timely hitting. Four Ducks – Luschar, Carlson, Flannery and Humphreys – recorded two hits in the game. However, Oregon was unable to reliably bring runners home, leaving 13 runners on base in the game.

The Ducks will try to avoid a sweep in the series against the Bruins on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 11:00 a.m.