University of Oregon
Penn State
No. 17 Ducks Shutout Penn State, Win Sixth Straight
02/27/04 | Softball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas ? Oregon junior Ani Nyhus gave up just one hit in five innings of work as the No. 17 University of Oregon softball team defeated Penn State 4-0 on the opening day of the St. Joseph Aggie Invitational II tournament in College Station, Texas. Nyhus pitched five near-flawless innings and combined with sophomore pitcher Amy Harris for the Ducks' fourth shutout of the season as Oregon improved to 9-4 overall in winning its sixth consecutive game and Penn State dropped to 0-6 on the season.
"I thought we did a great job of continuing to put the pressure on throughout the game," Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "We were also able to get out of some difficult situations and that's a real credit to our pitching and defense."
Nyhus pitched 4.1 perfect innings before Penn State first baseman Steph Viola bunted safely with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nyhus allowed just one hit and struck out four batters with no walks in five innings pitched before being relieved by Harris in the sixth inning. Nyhus improved to 6-2 on the season while Penn State pitcher Marisa Hanson fell to 0-4.
Offensively, Oregon had seven hits led by catcher Jenn Poore and first baseman Beth Boskovich, who went 2-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively.
The game was a rematch of the opening game of the 2003 NCAA Regionals in which Oregon defeated Penn State and Hanson, 10-8, in Fullerton, Calif. The two teams combined for 25 hits in the game, but also combined for eight errors. Hanson allowed five earned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning before Penn State scored four in the top of the seventh to come up just short of the win.
On Friday, Poore led off the second inning with a double down the left side and junior third baseman Ashley Richards drove her in with a single to left field to give Oregon a 1-0 lead. Richards advanced to third on a single to right field by Boskovich to give the Ducks their third hit of the inning.
Boskovich later put Oregon ahead, 2-0, with an RBI double to shallow center field to score Richards. Freshman Kristi Leiter then drove in both Boskovich and Ann Marie Topps with her first triple of the season, extending Oregon's lead to 4-0.
The Nittany Lions threatened in the fifth inning after Viola's bunt put her safely at first. Viola advanced to second on an Oregon error while Scarlett Neal reached on a fielders choice to put runners at first and second. Both players advanced on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Destiny Chavez, but catcher Kate Gentile popped up to Poore for the third out.
Penn State put runners on again in the sixth after another Duck error and a single by Jen Williams. Both runners advanced on an illegal pitch by Harris and Penn State loaded the bases after Barbie Pierce reached on a fielders choice. With no outs and the bases loaded, Harris then struck out two consecutive batters and Oregon got the third out on a fly to right field to preserve its lead.
The Ducks face Southern Mississippi 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Penn State win.
Oregon 001 030 0 - 4 7 2
Penn State 000 000 0 - 0 3 0
Win: Nyhus (6-2)
Loss: Hanson (0-6)
2B: Poore (1) 3B: Leiter (1)
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The Automated ScoreBook
#17 Oregon vs Penn State
Feb 27, 2004 at College Station, Tex (Aggie Softball Field)
Oregon 4 (9-4)
Player AB R H BI
---------------------------------------
Poore, Jenn c.............. 3 1 2 0
Sabol, Breanne ss.......... 2 0 1 0
Richards, Ashley 3b........ 1 1 1 1
Boskovich, Beth dh......... 4 1 2 1
Topps, Ann Marie rf........ 2 1 0 0
Leiter, Kristi 1b.......... 4 0 1 2
Hudson, Kayleen cf......... 2 0 0 0
Munson, Heather ph........ 1 0 0 0
Goodell, Erin 2b........... 2 0 0 0
Baird, Dani ph............ 1 0 0 0
Jaime, Julie lf............ 3 0 0 0
Nyhus, Ani p............... 0 0 0 0
Harris, Amy p............. 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 25 4 7 4
Penn State 0 (0-6)Player AB R H BI
---------------------------------------
Williams, Jen lf........... 3 0 1 0
Pierce, Barbie ss.......... 3 0 0 0
Francisco, Kelsey pr...... 0 0 0 0
Murray, Leigh cf........... 3 0 0 0
Stauffer, Katie 2b......... 3 0 0 0
Viola, Steph 1b............ 3 0 1 0
Neal, Scarlett rf.......... 3 0 0 0
Chavez, Destinie 3b........ 2 0 0 0
Gentile, Kate c............ 2 0 0 0
Chouinard, Natasha ph..... 0 0 0 0
Lucas, Kari pr............ 0 0 0 0
Wolfer, Meghan dh.......... 3 0 1 0
Hanson, Marisa p........... 0 0 0 0
Riggleman, Shana p........ 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 25 0 3 0
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Oregon.............. 001 030 0 - 4 7 2
Penn State.......... 000 000 0 - 0 3 0
-----------------------------------------
E - Goodell(2); Harris(1). DP - Lions 1. LOB - Ducks 9; Lions 6.
2B - Poore(1); Boskovich(3). 3B - Leiter(1). SH - Sabol 2(5);
Chavez. SB - Boskovich(1).
Oregon IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB
--------------------------------------------------------------
Nyhus, Ani W,6-2.......... 5.0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Harris, Amy ............... 2.0 2 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0
Penn State IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hanson, Marisa L,0-4...... 5.0 5 4 4 6 4 0 0 0 0
Riggleman, Shana .......... 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
BK - Harris(1).
Umpires - HP: Richard Crocker 1B: Clyde Oberg 3B: Mike Littlejohn
Start: 10 a.m. Time: 2:08 Attendance: 100
