TULSA, Okla. – No. 10 Oregon moved to 16-0 on the season thanks to big days offensively by Shaye Bowden and Allee Bunker and more strong pitching in a doubleheader sweep of Drake and Tulsa on the opening day of the OSU/Tulsa Invitational Friday at Collins Family Softball Complex.
The Ducks’ 16-0 start is now in second alone for the longest winning streak to start a season in school history, trailing only the 2017 team’s NCAA record-tying 35-0 start. Oregon is also one of just two remaining unbeatens nationally (Stony Brook), and the only undefeated team left that has played at least 10 games.
Game 1 (Oregon 12, Drake 1) – Behind big games at the plate by four different players and another strong effort in the circle, Oregon routed Drake, 12-1, in its first game of the doubleheader.
How it Happened: Same as has been the case over the first 14 games, Oregon set the tone early with a four-run top of the first. Bunker opened the scoring with an RBI double to the left field corner, driving in Terra McGowan, before Ariel Carlson made it a 3-0 game with a two-run single to left center. Bowden plated the final run of the inning on a two-out RBI base knock to score Carlson.
Rachel Cid extended the lead in the top of the second, blasting an opposite-field two-run bomb, scoring McGowan who led off the inning with a single. Deijah Pangilinan kept things going in the fourth, delivering a two-run double scoring Carlson and Bunker. Bowden followed two batters later with her second RBI single of the game, making it 9-0.
A solo homer in the bottom of the fourth put Drake on the board, but Oregon answered with three in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a pair of non-starters. After entering the game the inning prior, Vallery Wong came through with an RBI double to plate Bunker, then Maddie Hopper followed with a two-run single to stretch it to 12-1.
Game 1 Box Score Notes: Four Oregon players turned in four-hit games, accounting for 10 of the team’s 18 hits … Bunker and Bowden each went 4-for-4 with Bunker doubling twice and scoring three runs and Bowden driving in a pair while also recording a double … Bunker turned in her first career four-hit game and second career multi-double performance ... Bowden’s four hits tied a career-high set vs. CSUN on Feb. 8, 2019 … Carlson recorded her first career three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored … McGowan went 3-for-4 with two runs scored … Cid, Pangilinan and Hopper each also turned in multi-RBI games … Brooke Yanez improved to a perfect 8-0 on the year, throwing four innings and striking out four while giving up just a solo homer and three hits.
Game 2 (Oregon 3, Tulsa 2) – It took a while for Oregon to get going, but the Ducks again struck first for three fifth-inning runs before hanging on late in a 3-2 road win at Tulsa to complete the doubleheader sweep.
How it Happened: After a handful of missed opportunities over the first few innings, Oregon struck first with three runs in the fifth. Bunker again came through, doubling over the center fielder’s head with one out in the inning to score McGowan, who singled. Pangilinan made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly, before Bowden continued her hot day at the plate with a single to plate Bunker.
Tulsa would respond immediately, though, as Kari Briggs blasted a two-run homer to right field, cutting the Oregon lead to 3-2. Jordan Dail came out of the bullpen after that and got all three outs in the fifth to hold the Ducks’ lead.
From there, Dail gave up only a double in the sixth inning and fanned three over her three innings of work to earn her second save. The Ducks survived a bit of a scare with one out in the seventh, as Briggs again put a charge into one, but flew out at the wall to Haley Cruse in center field before Dail got the final out on a fly out to left.
Game 2 Box Score Notes: Bowden continued her hot day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI … Bunker finished 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and an RBI … After an uncharacteristic 0-for-4 in game one, Cruse turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate, her fifth three-hit game of the year … Oregon starter Samaria Diaz moved to 5-0 on the year, throwing four innings with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing two runs on four hits … Dail tossed three shutout innings with three strikeouts to get her second save of the season … Diaz and Dail combined for nine strikeouts and no walks, marking the fifth time this year Oregon pitching hasn’t surrendered a walk after it happened just once all last year.
Overall Notables: The 29 hits in the doubleheader are the most Oregon has had over a two-game stretch this season … It’s also the most hits the Ducks have had over two games since vs. CSUN and Missouri on Feb. 9 and 10, 2018 … Bowden recorded back-to-back three-hit games for the first time in her career, going 7-for-8 with three RBIs in the twin bill … Bowden’s season batting average went up 125 points to .375 on the year … Bunker went 6-for-8 with three doubles, extending her hitting streak to nine games while raising her season average to .432.
On Deck: The Ducks continue play in Oklahoma with a doubleheader in Stillwater Saturday against Louisville and Oklahoma State beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
The Ducks’ 16-0 start is now in second alone for the longest winning streak to start a season in school history, trailing only the 2017 team’s NCAA record-tying 35-0 start. Oregon is also one of just two remaining unbeatens nationally (Stony Brook), and the only undefeated team left that has played at least 10 games.
Game 1 (Oregon 12, Drake 1) – Behind big games at the plate by four different players and another strong effort in the circle, Oregon routed Drake, 12-1, in its first game of the doubleheader.
How it Happened: Same as has been the case over the first 14 games, Oregon set the tone early with a four-run top of the first. Bunker opened the scoring with an RBI double to the left field corner, driving in Terra McGowan, before Ariel Carlson made it a 3-0 game with a two-run single to left center. Bowden plated the final run of the inning on a two-out RBI base knock to score Carlson.
Rachel Cid extended the lead in the top of the second, blasting an opposite-field two-run bomb, scoring McGowan who led off the inning with a single. Deijah Pangilinan kept things going in the fourth, delivering a two-run double scoring Carlson and Bunker. Bowden followed two batters later with her second RBI single of the game, making it 9-0.
A solo homer in the bottom of the fourth put Drake on the board, but Oregon answered with three in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a pair of non-starters. After entering the game the inning prior, Vallery Wong came through with an RBI double to plate Bunker, then Maddie Hopper followed with a two-run single to stretch it to 12-1.
Game 1 Box Score Notes: Four Oregon players turned in four-hit games, accounting for 10 of the team’s 18 hits … Bunker and Bowden each went 4-for-4 with Bunker doubling twice and scoring three runs and Bowden driving in a pair while also recording a double … Bunker turned in her first career four-hit game and second career multi-double performance ... Bowden’s four hits tied a career-high set vs. CSUN on Feb. 8, 2019 … Carlson recorded her first career three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored … McGowan went 3-for-4 with two runs scored … Cid, Pangilinan and Hopper each also turned in multi-RBI games … Brooke Yanez improved to a perfect 8-0 on the year, throwing four innings and striking out four while giving up just a solo homer and three hits.
Game 2 (Oregon 3, Tulsa 2) – It took a while for Oregon to get going, but the Ducks again struck first for three fifth-inning runs before hanging on late in a 3-2 road win at Tulsa to complete the doubleheader sweep.
How it Happened: After a handful of missed opportunities over the first few innings, Oregon struck first with three runs in the fifth. Bunker again came through, doubling over the center fielder’s head with one out in the inning to score McGowan, who singled. Pangilinan made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly, before Bowden continued her hot day at the plate with a single to plate Bunker.
Tulsa would respond immediately, though, as Kari Briggs blasted a two-run homer to right field, cutting the Oregon lead to 3-2. Jordan Dail came out of the bullpen after that and got all three outs in the fifth to hold the Ducks’ lead.
From there, Dail gave up only a double in the sixth inning and fanned three over her three innings of work to earn her second save. The Ducks survived a bit of a scare with one out in the seventh, as Briggs again put a charge into one, but flew out at the wall to Haley Cruse in center field before Dail got the final out on a fly out to left.
Game 2 Box Score Notes: Bowden continued her hot day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI … Bunker finished 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and an RBI … After an uncharacteristic 0-for-4 in game one, Cruse turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate, her fifth three-hit game of the year … Oregon starter Samaria Diaz moved to 5-0 on the year, throwing four innings with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing two runs on four hits … Dail tossed three shutout innings with three strikeouts to get her second save of the season … Diaz and Dail combined for nine strikeouts and no walks, marking the fifth time this year Oregon pitching hasn’t surrendered a walk after it happened just once all last year.
Overall Notables: The 29 hits in the doubleheader are the most Oregon has had over a two-game stretch this season … It’s also the most hits the Ducks have had over two games since vs. CSUN and Missouri on Feb. 9 and 10, 2018 … Bowden recorded back-to-back three-hit games for the first time in her career, going 7-for-8 with three RBIs in the twin bill … Bowden’s season batting average went up 125 points to .375 on the year … Bunker went 6-for-8 with three doubles, extending her hitting streak to nine games while raising her season average to .432.
On Deck: The Ducks continue play in Oklahoma with a doubleheader in Stillwater Saturday against Louisville and Oklahoma State beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
