Diamond Ducks Take The First Game Of Their Series

Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Softball -

Stevie Hansen took the circle tonight against Mariah Mazon for the Beavers. The weather break earlier in the afternoon was short-lived, and turned to pouring rain from the third inning on.

Hansen pitched five shutout innings, and the Oregon bats did not disappoint. She found herself in a minor jam in the third inning, but pitched out of that to leave two Beavers on base.

Meanwhile, the Ducks batting order struck early. Hanna Delgado hit a leadoff single and then stole second base. A Terra McGowan single scored Delgado. Oregon pursuit of more runs ended there, with Mazon pitching well and leaving two Duck runners on base.

In the second, Vallery Wong knocked a long homer to center field and Oregon was up 2-0. The Ducks were unable to generate anything in the third inning. In the fourth inning, after an Ariel Carlson single, Vallery Wong hit her second home run of the game, scoring two.

Hannah Degado singled again, reaching 2nd base on a throwing error. Terra McGown followed with a double, scoring Delgado, and Oregon was up 5-0 going into the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, the game was delayed due to rain, and after an hour the game was called, with Oregon securing the win 5-0.

Stevie Hansen gets the win and now is at 11-7. Hannah Delgado went 2-3 and Terra McGowan went 2-2 with one RBI, but it was Vallery Wong’s 2-2 batting with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs that was the highlight of Oregon’s newly re-discovered offense.

Oregon’s next game of the series is tomorrow, 4/30/22, in Jane Sanders field at 6:00 pm PT.

Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Baseball -

The rain was driving down as hard at PK Park as it was at the Jane; but surprisingly, baseball muscled through it and did not call for a weather delay. Tonight’s match featured RJ Gordon on the mound for the Ducks against Steven Zobac.

Both sides went scoreless in the first three innings. Oregon sprinkled some hits here and there but could not make them count. In the top of the fourth, Cal was able to open up the scoring off a one RBI double, and then another run after a Gordon wild pitch. In the fifth, Gordon was able to dispatch the Bears 1-2-3 and Zobac did the same in the bottom of the inning.

Rio Britton came in for relief in the sixth, after Gordon found himself with two runners on base and two outs. Britton retired the next batter, ending the top of the inning. In the bottom, the Oregon bats finally started making contact with the baseball. Drew Cowley hit a double to left field, and Zobac’s night was done, bringing Josh White in relief. White walked Brennan Milone, and Josh Kasevich also hit a double, scoring Cowley.

Then Anthony Hall doubled down on the previous doubles, sending his to left field and scoring Kasevich and Milone, and the Ducks had a 3-2 advantage.

Britton pitched another ¹⁄₃ inning in the seventh, and was relieved by Christian Ciuffetelli. Both did not allow a Bears hit in the seventh. Josh White retired the Duck batting order in the bottom of the seventh.

In the eighth, after Ciuffetelli struck out the first Cal batter, Matt Dallas was brought on the mound. Dallas struggled a bit, and after allowing a couple of hits Kolby Somers came in to close out the game. Somers struck out the first batter he faced to end the top of the inning.

Josh White’s control left him, and it may have been in no small part due to the pouring rain that had delayed and then ended the Oregon softball game. He walked three batters - Milone, Jacob Walsh, and Kasevich - and then Anthony Hall delivered a monster shot to deep center for a three-RBI triple.

Hall then scored on a Colby Shade ground out, and the Ducks were ahead 7-2.

As he is wont to do, Kolby Somers made the ninth inning more interesting that it needed to be, but after a couple of Bears reached base, Somers delivered Ks on the last two outs to get the save.

Rio Britton (4-0) picked up the win tonight, with Kolby Somers earning save #8 on the season. Josh White scored the loss for Cal.

Four Ducks hit doubles in the game: Tanner Smith, Drew Cowley, Josh Kasevich, and Anthony Hall - with Hall also hitting the icing-on-the-cake triple. Oregon’s offense stepped up from behind yet again, and showed that ducks are superior to bears when in water.

Ducks baseball battles the Cal Bears in PK Park again tomorrow, 4/30/22, at 2:00 pm PT.