By Austin Ota

After struggling for the greater part of the last two weekends, it would be fair to assume that Stevie Hansen was overused, she had pitched too much, and why, for Gods' sake, would the freshman start her sixth straight game? Hansen quickly proved any doubters of her dominance wrong, striking out the side in her first inning of work and somehow only getting better from there, reminding Ducks fans that Oregon has their future in the circle as we speak. Going above the double-digit mark for the first time in her career, Hansen was able to maneuver through the solid Portland State Vikings lineup, finishing with twelve strikeouts and just two hits allowed over her six innings of work. Her curveball continued to dance around the Vikings bats, and she complemented it with her devastating riseball, with Terra McGowan likely all smiles watching her pitcher dominate from 45 feet away.

Oregon's bats had a tough task in front of them, with Vikings righty Olivia Grey being one of the best in her conference and a truly underrated arm on the national scale. They were able to tack on five runs through mainly small ball and execution, and yet Rachel Cid's monster blast was the most memorable. After a 2-9 weekend while failing to join the home run party in Arizona, Cid broke through, driving a ball off the top of the netting in right to keep the Ducks ahead. When Makenna Kliethermes came in to finish the job in the seventh, she was able to stop the bleeding just enough for Oregon to come up with the win, 5-2.

This coming weekend, the Ducks stay at home for a three game set against the #11 Washington Huskies.

Postgame Audio

Pitcher Stevie Hansen

3B Rachel Cid

Coach Melyssa Lombardi