With three consecutive wins, the No. 20 Oregon women’s softball team punched its own ticket to the second round of the NCAA National Championship tournament this weekend at the Atlanta Regional.
The Ducks (36-19) opened regional action with a 1-0 win over the Auburn Tigers on Friday, followed by an 11-2 victory over host Georgia Tech on Saturday, and sealed their fate with another 4-3 win in eight innings over Georgia Tech on Sunday.
Oregon ended the regular season losing nine of its final 10 Pacific-10 Conference matchups, but any rust that may have hindered the squad late in the year was clearly shaken off at the right time.
In the double-elimination format, Oregon needed to beat Georgia Tech once with two opportunities on Sunday, but junior catcher Ashley Kivett’s sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the eighth put an end to Georgia Tech’s season.
“I thought Georgia Tech played great,” first-year Oregon head coach Mike White said. “We had a great regional here. After they tied it up in the seventh, I worried that we wouldn’t be able to get the win. A lot of teams with our level of experience couldn’t have done that.”
Despite playing on the biggest stage of the year, Oregon’s youth proved to be a non-issue throughout the weekend, particularly with freshman pitcher Jessica Moore.
Moore’s complete-game shutout on Friday pushed the Ducks past a dangerous Auburn team in dramatic fashion. Oregon scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning when freshman left fielder Allie Burger scored from third base on a suicide bunt single by sophomore shortstop Kelsey Chambers. As a team, the Ducks struggled to crank out hits against Auburn starter Anna Thompson, who gave up just three hits on the day. But Moore said even with the lack of run support, her teammates behind her made all the difference.
“Between plays, everyone in the infield was constantly reassuring me and told me that they were behind me,” Moore said. “And that it would take all of us together to win — that took a lot of pressure off.”
The following day, Oregon’s bats woke up to the tune of 11 runs off Georgia Tech starter and ACC Freshman of the Year Hope Rush (28-7). The Ducks were sparked by freshman Kaylan Howard’s first career grand slam in the opening inning to jump out to an early 4-2 lead. The Ducks then added another run in the second, three more in the third, and an addition three in the fourth to end the game in five innings via the seven-run mercy rule.
Seven Oregon hitters reached base safely in the contest, while senior Neena Bryant (3 for 3, two RBI), freshman Samantha Pappas (2 for 4, two RBI), senior Carlyn Re (2 for 2), and Howard (2 for 3, five RBI) each recorded multiple hits. Moore, on the other hand, threw her second complete game in as many days, striking out six and walking one in her five innings of work.
“Hitting is contagious, so I was excited just to do my part and help get the ball rolling,” Howard said.
On Sunday, Oregon had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but Moore gave up two runs in the inning to tie the game at 3-3. White then pulled Moore from the circle for the first time all weekend, leaving the bases loaded for sophomore reliever Mikayla Endicott.
Endicott then struck out the next four batters she faced, including two fanned batters while the bases were loaded, to secure the Oregon victory and the team’s first Super Regional appearance since 1989.
“This was biggest game of my life,” Endicott said, “But I tried to do what Coach said and take it one pitch at a time, and hit my spots. We came in here ready to fight, and any of our struggles in the past only made us tougher and better.”
Burger led the Ducks offensively in that game, going 3 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI triple of the right-field fence. Burger’s .545 average led the team for the three-game stint, smacking out six total base hits and scoring three runs.
“This was a team win in every way,” White said. “We had our backs against the wall and
responded time and time again.”
According to goducks.com, it is likely the Ducks will play No. 9 seed Missouri (49-11) either on Thursday-Friday or Friday-Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
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