Oregon softball has been tested the past four weeks against the best in the Pac-12 conference, and quite frankly, in the nation. From the past month, the Ducks have faced three top-12 teams in No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Washington and No. 12 Arizona State, while also splitting the series against Stanford.

Coming off a 3-1 series loss against the Sun Devils last weekend, the Ducks returned home to Eugene to face yet another top-10 opponent — No. 7 Arizona. 

Looking to continue its momentum from Friday’s walk-off homer thriller from senior Terra McGowan, Oregon’s strong pitching and defense allowed them to clinch a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats in the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday. 

Brooke Yanez once again led on the mound against the No. 1 offense in the conference. 

Defense proved to carry over from Friday’s game, with both Yanez and Arizona’s Alyssa Denham not allowing any runs until the fifth inning.

Both Arizona and Oregon failed to score before the fifth, each stranding three runners in scoring position. 

In the top of the fifth, Yanez recorded her eighth strikeout for the second straight day. She finished the inning in a one-two-three fashion and struck out five straight batters. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Deijah Pangilinan had her first hit of 2021 with a double to right center, and it could not have come at a better time. Haley Cruse came up next. Anything but a stranger to big hits and big moments, Cruse almost mirrored Pangilinan’s hit with a double to right-center, bringing Pangilinan home to give Oregon a 1-0 lead. 

Four hits in a row for Cruse after that double and the sixth hit of the game for the Ducks forced Arizona’s Hannah Bowen to start warming up in the Wildcat bullpen. 

Arizona had its final chance to tie or take the lead in the top of the seventh, but Yanez shut all batters down once again. Stepping onto the mound in the seventh, Yanez was three outs away from a complete game shutout. She struck out Malia Martinez for strikeout No. 11, then followed up by striking out Sharlize Palacios for her final punchout of the game. Yanez finished one of the best games of her career with 12 strikeouts and only four hits allowed. 

The back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the fifth and Yanez’s complete game propelled the Ducks to a 1-0 win and a 2-0 series lead heading into the second game of the doubleheader. 
Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.