Softball: Ducks Take Three-Time Champs To The Wire

[Charles Fischer]

NORMAN, Okla. — Oregon took three-time defending national champion Oklahoma down to the wire Sunday, before the No. 2 Sooners eked out a 3-2 win at Love's Field to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals and end the Ducks' season.

 

A home run by Tehya Bird and an RBI single from fellow senior Emma Kauf tied the game at 2-2 in the third. Another senior, Morgan Scott, got the final 10 outs in the circle for Oregon, but she took over after the Sooners had rallied for a run in the fourth — which proved to be the difference in a tightly contested game.

 

"Any time you're in a game like this, it's going to be tough — we're gonna throw punches, they're gonna throw punches," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "And it's about just staying in it, staying in it. We always talk about that it doesn't have to look a certain way. It's just the ability to fight and persevere and stick together and go get what we want, and you could really see that from our group today."

 

The loss ended the UO careers of nine seniors, including Bird, Kauf, Scott, Ariel Carlson, Hanna Delgado, Vallery Wong, Alyssa Daniell, KK Humphreys and Raegan Breedlove. "Version 6" of the Ducks under Lombardi finished the year 30-21, having reached an NCAA Regional final for the fourth year in a row.

 

"I grew up going to games at Oregon, and it's always been a dream of mine to play here," said Carlson, a Eugene native who is planning to remain with the program next season as director of player development and analytics. "Wearing this jersey is so special and I'm so proud of the direction this program is going. Playing for this staff and with these girls, it's been amazing. I couldn't ask for a better team or a better program."

 

How It Happened: Elise Sokolsky started in the circle for Oregon and allowed two singles to open the game, for which the Ducks were the designated home team. But she minimized the damage by allowing just one run, on a sacrifice fly, a theme for UO pitchers on the day as they kept the Ducks in the game.

 

Freshman Taylor Spencer (7-4) took over for Sokolsky in the second after a one-out double brought in another run that made it 2-0. Spencer walked a batter with two outs but stranded both runners, again limiting the damage.

 

"I'm so proud of this team," Carlson said. "We knew they were going to come out hot from the start — that's what they do. So nothing really surprised us. We knew it was going to be that kind of game, back and forth. So we were prepared for it. The Pac, our entire schedule prepared us for that, so we were ready to go when that happened."

 

The Ducks proved it in the third, after Spencer threw a 1-2-3 top of the inning. Bird hit a one-out solo home run, her second of the weekend to give her multiple homers in two straight NCAA Regionals.

 

 

With two out in the inning, Kai Luschar singled. She took second on a base hit by Carlson and advanced to third on an error, and Kauf drove in Luschar with a single to tie the game, though Carlson was thrown out at home trying to score the go-ahead run on the play.

 

"It was really special to be able to do that for my team and keep us in the game," Bird said of her homer that sparked the inning. "It's something I'll never forget, for sure."

 

The Sooners answered in the top of the fourth. Spencer got two quick outs, but the next three batters reached, the third on an RBI single that put Oklahoma back in front, 3-2.

 

Oregon managed a two-out double by Daniell in the fourth, and Kauf singled again in the sixth. But the Ducks weren't able to forge another tie or take the lead, and their season came to an end.

 

"I've been going to Oregon camp since I was 9 years old, so Oregon means everything to me," Bird said. "It was the only school I've ever wanted to go to, and as soon as I got that offer, there was no place else. When coach Lombardi came in as coach and I was already committed, I knew that I was going to stay a Duck no matter who was there, and it just made it so special that coach Lombardi was there for us. So Oregon means everything to me and I'll be a Duck for life."

 

The Ducks ended the Norman Regional 2-2, with a win over Boston University on Friday, a loss to the Sooners followed by a win over the Terriers in an elimination game Saturday night, and ultimately Sunday's finale of the double-elimination weekend.

 

"I just can't say enough about my team and how proud I am of them," Lombardi said. "This group of seniors has been an absolute blessing. They all came at different times, but they're all leaving together and what they've created together — the standard that they've set for our future teams — I think Version 7, they are gonna be able to take Version 6's lead.

 

"I know that no matter what's next for them, that they're going to excel, and then they're gonna be just really, really good at what they do. They're invested in us, not just in softball, but just invested in us as people and willing to do what it takes for us all to be great together. So I love the fight that we had today. We were right there, just needed a couple more. But to see us yesterday and then to see what we did today, that's Duck softball right there. And so I'm just proud and blessed to have these guys by my side."

 

Notable: Carlson's third-inning single gave her a 10-game hitting streak, the longest by a Duck since Terra McGowan had a 12-game streak last season. McGowan spent this year in the staff position Carlson will take over next spring. … Carlson tied Janie Takeda Reed (2013) for sixth on the single-season total bases list with 121. … Bird wrapped up her career with five homers and 13 RBIs in NCAA Regional play.

[HDuck]

In the final softball rankings before the tournament the Ducks were No. 22.  They were assigned to play at No. 2 Oklahoma.

 

In a normal 64-team field, 16 x 4, the No. 2 seed would have No. 31 as their top opponent, i.e. 16 hosts 17, 15 hosts 18, 1 hosts 32, etc.

 

Not sure how Oregon got sent to Norman?   Perhaps there is a strength of schedule component used by the Committee rather than rankings?  Or, maybe the Committee just wanted to see coach Lombardi in Norman, Oklahoma again?

[Cacker Guy]

The softball team played very well this weekend.  Not perfectly, but very well.  With a couple of breaks we would have won today's game.  The Ducks represented UO very well.  The seniors were all terrific. They can definitely be proud of the way they played.

 

Our defense was sensational, our pitching pretty darn good, and we played with grit and fearlessness.  Without the two HBPs we would have won.  And one of those came a few pitches after the home plate ump just wouldn't call a third strike on an Oklahoma batter. 

 

Too bad we had to play Oklahoma.  On the other hand, we went toe-to-toe with the best.  Well done, Ducks!

Edited May 20 by Cacker Guy