Story By Justin Grossweiner
It was almost a tough start to an important series for Oregon softball against Arizona following a near perfect game by opposing pitcher Hanah Bowen, but in the bottom of the 7th inning a heroic home run by Terra McGowan gave the Ducks a shocking 2-1 victory over the Wildcats. It was a pitcher’s duel the whole way as Brooke Yanez went toe to toe with Bowen until the 6th inning when she gave up a home run to Redshirt-Junior Hannah Martinez. Besides Arizona’s one big hit Yanez was dominant throughout the rest of the ballgame. She totaled 8 strikeouts and only allowed 2 hits and a walk. It would have been a tough luck loss for Yanez as she did more than enough to keep her team in the game even though she did allow a home run to Arizona’s nine-hole hitter.
Going into the 7th inning the Ducks had yet to put on a baserunner, but the energy for Oregon’s dugout was still high. Almost every player was wearing an upside-down rally cap, and a lot of cheering and chanting was heard from the team as the inning began. The Duck’s leadoff hitter Haley Cruse started the inning by working a 3-0 count, one of the few good counts for Oregon hitters during the game, and on a 3-2 pitch she drove a solid line drive single to right field to break up the perfect game. The next hitter Allee Bunker moved Cruse over into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt setting up Terra McGowan as the winning run at the plate. Bowen quickly got ahead of McGowan 0-2, and it looked like she could get her 8th strikeout of the game to finish off the Ducks. But offering at anything close with two strikes, McGowan put a magical swing on an inside pitch which resulted in no-doubt 2 run home run to left to win it for Oregon.
The blast not only put a charge into Jane Sanders Stadium, but it may help to revive their season as well. Coming into the inning the Ducks were staring down not only a perfect game, but also their 12 loss in their last 16 contests. With only 7 games left in the regular season this could be a critical victory to help give Oregon a chance to host a regional in the NCAA tournament. Instead of another tough loss the Ducks find themselves with a chance to make a statement against a top tier PAC-12 opponent in Arizona. Oregon has a chance to split the series or come away with a series victory if they win one or both of the games in a double header tomorrow afternoon, and it’s almost certain that both of these lineups will have at least one more opportunity to face each respective starting pitcher that both put on impressive performances on Friday.
Audio Story By: Justin Grossweiner