Oregon needed a game like this.
The No. 15 Oregon softball team exited conference play Wednesday to take on Portland State and showed no signs of its recent hitting struggles in an 11-1 victory in five innings at Howe Field against the Vikings. It was Oregon’s largest margin of victory against the in-state foe since a 10-0 victory in 1994.
It’s also Oregon’s largest offensive output of the season.
The Ducks rested four regular starters against the Vikings, allowing a few backups to shine, as they prepare for a tough weekend in Arizona.
Oregon takes on No. 9 Arizona State Friday before two games in Tucson against No. 3 Arizona, the defending national champions.
The victory Wednesday should at least help restore some confidence for Oregon.
The Ducks had lost a season-high three straight games in which they averaged three runs and four hits per game. But Oregon put up seven runs on three hits in the first inning – and 11 runs on eight hits in the game – to cruise past the Vikings.
“No tougher places to play than the Arizonas,” Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen said. “We know that’ll be a big challenge, but this is how we want to go in is feeling better and a lot more confident.
“It was a good win, a dominant win.”
Freshman Neena Bryant emphatically began the scoring in the bottom of the first. After leadoff batter Suzie Barnes singled and Oregon loaded the bases with consecutive walks, Bryant drilled a Grand Slam, Oregon’s first of the season, over the centerfield fence to quickly give the Ducks a 4-0 lead. That was Bryant’s eighth home run of the season.
“I was seeing the ball pretty good. It just came pretty easy,” Bryant said. “It was, all-in-all, a good day.”
The Ducks added three more runs and cycled through the lineup in the first when freshman Blair Williamson singled home a run and Barnes doubled off the wall, scoring two.
Sophomore backup catcher Courtney Shlee nailed a one-out solo home run, the first of her career, to begin the scoring in the third inning. Williamson singled and Barnes reached on a throwing error before centerfielder Sari-Jane Jenkins doubled into the left-centerfield gap to score both and give the Ducks a 10-0 lead.
Freshman Carlyn Re picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth. But the Vikings squashed starting pitcher Melissa Rice’s bid for a shutout with an RBI single in the fifth by Kimi Daniel.
Rice picked up her 20th win of the season by pitching all five innings and giving up four hits and one earned run. She is now 20-6 on the season. The Ducks will need her more than ever this weekend in Arizona as junior ace Alicia Cook will not make the trip with the team after falling ill with the same symptoms that caused her to miss a stretch of six games earlier in the season.
“I’ve just got to take every pitch, pitch by pitch, and stay relaxed and in the moment,” Rice said. “All I can do is all I can do…just throw and do my best. I’m excited.”
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