Oregon Softball: Ducks Salvage Serie Finale vs Arizona State, 4-2 Await Postseason Berth
After dropping the first two games of the series at Arizona State, the Ducks were able to put it together for the series and season finale on Sunday with a 4-2 win. Now Oregon awaits the NCAA Selection Committee and a postseason berth. Oregon will likely get the chance to host the first two rounds at Howe Field.
Geoff Thurner/GoDucks.com
University of Oregon Press Release:
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 2 University of Oregon softball team (46-9, 19-5) put the finishing touches on its first Pac-12 title with a 4-2 win over No. 5 Arizona State (45-10, 16-8) Saturday night at Farrington Stadium.
Junior DP Alexa Peterson scored UO’s first run in the second inning. The Salem, Ore., native lined her 12th double of the season with two outs, and scored on a double down the left field line by freshman catcher Janelle Lindvall.
Freshman third baseman Koral Costa added Oregon’s next run with a solo homer to left field lead off the second inning – her fifth of the year.
Peterson added a two-run homer to left field in the third inning – her 11th of 2013 and 22nd career-wise – and drove in sophomore center fielder Janie Takeda who had reached on an error by the first baseman.
Those pair of round-trippers upped the Ducks’ team season total to 75 – four better than its previous school record from 2011 (71).
For the game, Peterson (2-for-2) was the lone Duck with multiple hits, and three others hit safely once.
For ASU, both of its runs came on a two-run homer by Alix Johnson by the fifth inning.
In her 30th start of the season, Duck senior Jessica Moore (25-4) struck out one, walked four, yielded four hits, and one of her two runs allowed was earned in her six innings of work.
Freshman Cheridan Hawkins retired the final out in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh, before Moore re-entered to coax the final out of the game on a pop-out to shortstop.
Sun Devil starter Mackenzie Popescue pitched the first four innings, struck out four, walked one, allowed five hits, and three of her four runs allowed were earned.
All-American Dallas Escobedo pitched the final three innings, struck out four, walked one, and allowed no hits and no runs.
At the plate for ASU, four players hit safely once.
Looking ahead to Sunday night, the Ducks will tune into the 64-team NCAA Tournament announcement on ESPNU at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
The No. 2 Ducks look ahead to their fourth straight postseason bid and 15th overall since the first NCAA Tournament in 1982.
Next weekend, 16 NCAA Regional sites will host three-day, four-team, double-elimination action from Thursday-Sunday, May 16-19.
The following weekend, 16 Super Regional sites will host best-of-three, two-day play on Thursday-Sunday, May 23-26, with every game televised by ESPN networks.
The eight remaining teams then advance to the ESPN-televised Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, May 30-June 5. More information on the NCAA Tournament and WCWS is available at the www.NCAAsports.com website.
The previous three years under head coach Mike White, the Ducks made their first three Super Regional trips, and last year’s World Series trip was its second ever and first since 1989.
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Post Spring Game Look At Pac 12 Wide Receivers, Ducks At #3 Oregon Softball: Jessica Moore And Alexa Peterson Invited To USA SB National Team Tryouts Oregon’s Liz Brenner Nominated For Sports Illustrated College Athlete Of The Year Oregon Ranked In Top 10 In Social Media Top 25