After a Saturday showdown at The Jane, both the Ducks and the Bruins remain tied in their pursuit of both a series victory and the top spot in the Big Ten conference.
The No. 5 Oregon Ducks (40-5, 13-2 Big Ten) softball team went down scoreless against the No. 6 UCLA Bruins (41-6, 13-2 Big Ten) in the second game of the series by a final of 8-0.
Oregon started off strong, coming through with a perfect first inning led by junior pitcher Lyndsey Grein, as she struck out two. Grein was a clutch contributor in the Friday night victory for the first game of the series against the Bruins.
However, the scoreboard stayed empty up until the top of the third, when junior third baseman Jordan Woolery decided to put UCLA on the board first with a sacrifice fly to right. Graduate outfielder Jessica Clements continued the momentum, scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning.
“It took us too long to try and make an adjustment at the plate, we got two hits going into the sixth,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said.
The bats remained quiet before the Bruins picked up speed at the top of the sixth. Woolery came through and delivered once again for UCLA. Her double to left center cleared the bases, bringing in three to widen the scoring gap.
The Bruins weren’t done. Freshman shortstop Kaniya Bragg sent a homer out to left field to tack on three more for the second time for UCLA, closing out the first half of the inning with six runs off of just four hits.
Unable to respond, the Ducks came up empty, sealing the run-rule victory for the Bruins.
“I don’t think we played well enough today in any area to come and get that win,” Lombardi said. “The biggest thing is just understanding that we have to play better, just to play good enough.”
Oregon was only able to get three hits against the Bruins’ freshman pitcher and Oregon native Addisen Fisher. Fisher pitched for all six innings, striking out three and only giving up one walk.
“They took advantage of the situation. They had some big hits. They pitched well. They played great defense,” Lombardi said. “They did everything they needed to find a way to win the ballgame.”
Heading into the final stretch of the season, both teams will have the chance to snag the series and the conference lead during the weekend finale tomorrow, starting at 2:00 p.m.
“We are a really good team. I don’t really like how we played today, I know our team doesn’t like how we played today,” Lombardi said. “What’s nice is that we get one more opportunity tomorrow.”