Ducks Wrap Weekend With 6-1 Victory

Sunday, February 24

Cathedral City, CA

9:00 AM

University of Oregon

11-4

UC Santa Barbara

4-8

Oregon

UC Santa Barbara

02/24/19 | Softball

Box Score Box: Oregon 6, UCSB 1 Weekend Stats Overall Stats

By: Nate Krueger

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The Oregon softball team capped a productive weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Sunday with a 6-1 win over UC Santa Barbara.

Oregon's veterans led a nine-hit day at the plate and sophomore Jordan Dail (9-0) threw six innings of one-run ball to remain undefeated on the season. The No. 17 Ducks finished 4-2 on the weekend and improved to 11-4 overall.

How it Happened: Freshman Lexi Wagner gave Oregon a 1-0 lead in the second inning, coming through with a two-out RBI single a day after delivering a two-run, game-tying single with two outs to help Oregon to a comeback win over Texas A&M.

Sophomore Shaye Bowden extended Oregon's lead to 2-0 in the third with an RBI single to score Haley Cruse, who evaded the tag with a great slide at the plate. Senior April Utecht added two more in the inning with a screaming line drive to left for a two-run double that scored Bowden and fellow senior Cherish Burks.

Bowden came through again in the fourth with another RBI single up the middle to score Cruse, who singled and moved into scoring position with her second stolen base of the day.

Utecht made it 6-0 in the fifth with a solo home run to center field, her second round tripper of the season and 10th of her career.

That was more than enough run support for Dail, who allowed only four hits and just two free passes over six solid innings. Dail worked around a two-on, no out situation in the second and was nearly untouchable until the sixth, when UCSB (4-8) pushed across its lone run on an RBI fielder's choice after a pair of hits and a hit batter. Maddie MacGrandle took over in the seventh and put the Gauchos down in order to secure the win.

At the Plate: Utecht went 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs and her second home run, and Bowden racked up three hits and a pair of RBIs. Cruse had a hit and three walks in a perfect day at the plate, Wagner went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and both Burks and Allee Bunker recorded a hit. The Ducks continued to show a good approach at the plate, drawing seven walks with only two strikeouts.

In The Circle: Dail struck out four over six innings to improve to 9-0, putting her near the top of the national leaderboard in victories. The sophomore enjoyed her most efficient outing so far this season, issuing just one walk and one hit batter. MacGrandle needed just 10 pitches to put UCSB away in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Notable: Dail finished another great weekend with a 4-0 record over five appearances, allowing only seven runs with 28 strikeouts over 29.2 total innings (1.65 ERA) … Dail lowered her season ERA to 2.33 … Bowden hit .412 for the weekend with a home run and seven RBIs, and is Oregon's leading hitter through three weekends with a .409 batting average … Cruse's three walks improved her team-high total to 17 this season, raising her on-base percentage to an impressive .525 … Oregon still has more walks (72) than strikeouts (63) on the season, helping the Ducks to a .423 team on-base percentage.

Up Next: The Ducks will head to the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., next weekend, their fourth road trip in as many weeks to open the season. Oregon will play a loaded five-game schedule beginning with a doubleheader Thursday against No. 3 Florida and host Cal State Fullerton.