Campus Roundup: Track comes up big at Mt. Sac Relays while baseball, softball keep up winning ways

Baseball

The Ducks had a successful series against Washington State at PK Park with a 3-game sweep over the Cougars. Oregon's pitching dominated the series, allowing just one run in two of the three wins. Oregon began the series with a big 11-1 win on Thursday night as A.J. Balta went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs while Tommy Thorpe went 7 innings giving up just two hits while striking out eight. Oregon used a big first inning with four runs to cruise to the series opening win. On Friday, Oregon manager George Horton earned his 700th D-I victory in a 6-3 win over the Cougars. Oregon starter Jeff Gold went 7 innings giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits, enough to improve to 9-0 on the year, the best record in the NCAA. The Ducks scored five of their six runs in the fourth inning, including a double from Austin Grebeck drove in three runs. Oregon wrapped up the sweep with a 2-1 win on Saturday. After the Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth, A.J. Balta tied things up with an RBI double. A single from Tyler Baumgartner drove in Balta to give Oregon the lead. After six innings from freshman Trent Paddon, Oregon's bullpen finished the job as Jordan Spencer and Garret Cleavinger sealed the sweep for the Ducks. Oregon, winners of their last nine games, now travels up I-5 to take on Oregon State next weekend in Corvallis.

Women's Golf

The Oregon women's golf team co-hosted the inaugural Silverado Showdown and placed fifth in the 15-team field. Oregon finished with an overall score of 886 (+22) in their final tournament before the Pac-12 Championships. Cassy Isagawa led the Ducks with an overall score of 215 (-1). Cathleen Santoso finished just outside of a top 10 finish, carding a 218 (+2), tying for 11th overall. The No. 11 Washington Huskies dominated the tournament with a score of 861 (-3), 13 strokes better than the No. 1 USC Trojans who finished second. The Ducks will return to Oregon for the Pac-12 Championships beginning on Friday at the Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.

Lacrosse

The Ducks clinched a spot in the MPSF Tournament after a 10-8 win over the USC Trojans on Friday night at McAlister Field in Los Angeles. After struggling with turnovers, the Ducks trailed 5-4 going into the half, but back-to-back goals from Nikki Puszcz and Olivia Pyne put Oregon back on top. USC answered back with two goals of their own to jump back out in front. After a goal from Casey Brogan put Oregon in the lead again, another goal from Pyne extended the Ducks' lead to two goals. A drawn charge from Carly O'Connell sealed the 10-8 win for the Ducks, clinching their spot in the postseason.

Softball

Oregon softball had another big weekend at Howe Field, sweeping the California Golden Bears, including a pair of wins where the Ducks run ruled the Bears. After a 9-1 win to open the series, the Ducks kept rolling with a 15-3 win on Friday. What was more impressive about the win was the fact that all 15 runs came in the fourth inning alone. The Ducks sent 19 hitters to the plate, hitting three home runs including a pinch-hit grand slam from Sammie Puentes. Oregon wrapped up the sweep with a 7-2 win on Saturday. The win was the first full game the Ducks had played in a week as they run ruled opponents in their previous four wins. Oregon now heads to the Bay Area for a three-game weekend series against Stanford starting on Friday night.

Tennis

The men's tennis team dropped their season finale to the Washington Huskies on Saturday in a 4-3 loss in Seattle. Washington took the final two singles matches in three sets to wrap up the victory. Earlier this year, the Ducks had defeated Washington for the first time in 10 years with a 4-1 win in Eugene on Feb. 28. Oregon took an early lead with wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 matches, but the Huskies controlled the singles matches, winning four of the six matches including the final two, sealing the redemption victory over the Ducks. In the category of moral victories however, the Ducks finished the year with 15 wins for the third straight season. Oregon now turns their attention towards the Pac-12 championships starting on April 23.

The women also ended their season with a loss, falling 4-2 to the Washington State Cougars. In the doubles matches, the Cougars defeated Oregon in both sets of matches, starting with a dominating 8-1 win from Elizaveta Luzina and Lize Leenknecht over Nicole Long and Jasmine Minor. Next, Maria Biryukova and Olga Musilovich followed up with a 8-4 win over Lina Åkesson and Marlou Kluiving. After another pair of wins in the singles matches, Lana Buttner put the Ducks on the board with a 6-0, 6-2 win. Maria Biryukova clinched the match for the Cougars with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 win over Jasmine Minor. The Pac-12 championships for the women begin on April 24.

Track & Field

The Ducks had a strong showing at the Mt. Sac Relays on Friday. Jenna Prandini ran the 100 in 11.11 seconds, the second fastest time in the world this year and the second fastest time in school history. The women's 4x100 team composed of Marybeth Sant, Phyllis Francis, Prandini and Jasmine Todd won in 43.31, tying for the fastest time in the world this year. The time was also second fastest in school history. Laura Roesler nearly broke the 2:00 barrier in the 800, winning in an NCAA-leading time of 2:00.53, the second fastest time in the world this year.

At the Oregon Relays in Eugene, freshman phenom Edward Cheserek made his Hayward Field debut with a 13:46.77 win in the 5000. His teammate Eric Jenkins was right behind, finishing in 13:46.80. Oregon had another 1-2 finish in the 400 as Marcus Chambers and Jack Galpin crossed the line in 46.88 and 48.14, respectively. The Ducks also had a strong showing in the 4x100 as the team composed of Dior Mathis, Arthur Delaney, Galpin and Chambers won in 40.67 seconds. Former Duck Matthew Centrowitz won the 1500 in 3:41.85, the third fastest time for an American this year.

Oregon now heads east for one of the biggest outdoor meets all year in Philadelphia at the 120th Penn Relays.