EUGENE, Ore. – It didn't take long for 12th-ranked Oregon to put away Idaho State on Saturday at Howe Field. The Ducks swept the doubleheader, recording a 10-0 victory in the first game and winning the second, 8-0, after freshman shortstop Jenn Salling hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early.
The Ducks (32-3) are now on an 11-game winning streak and are an undefeated 8-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 67-1 at Howe Field.
While the Ducks totaled six home runs on the afternoon, the Oregon pitching staff allowed just one Bengal to reach base all afternoon.
Junior Alicia Cook (17-1) pitched the second perfect game of her career, totaling eight strikeouts during the first contest. She has won her last 17 decisions and sports a 0.77 ERA. Cook recorded the program's first perfect game last season in a 9-0 win over Stanford on April 28.
In the first inning, the Ducks scored three early runs on Idaho State when senior Suzie Barnes led off the inning with a single to left field. The speedy second baseman stole second and scored the first run of the game on a Sari-Jane Jenkins RBI single to center field. Salling followed up with a home run lined over the wall in right center.
Ahead 3-0, the Ducks built a 10-run lead by the end of the third, backed by home runs from Lovena Chaput and Salling's second of the day. Chaput buried a two-run homer to right field, while Salling dropped her bomb on top of the batting cages behind right center. Idaho State (4-24) didn't help its cause with two fielding errors in the third.
The second game of the series was more of the same, with Ann Marie Topps and Salling responsible for four runs apiece. Topps hit two home runs in the game, a solo shot in the first and a three-run blast in the third. Topps' total of 15 home runs this year is just one short of tying the single-season record set by Andrea Vidlund in 2003.
Salling, who totaled nine RBIs in the doubleheader, hit a three-run homer in the fifth to end the game early by way of the eight-run rule. She now leads the team with 48 RBIs.
Sophomore Melissa Rice improved to 15-2 on the year, allowing just one hit and striking out seven.
Barnes had five stolen bases on the day.
Oregon returns to Howe Field tomorrow, Sun., March 25, for a 1 p.m. doubleheader with Utah Valley State. The Ducks will travel to Portland State on Wed., March 28 before opening up play in Pac-10 on Fri., March 30, hosting Cal at 3 p.m.
