Softball: Despite Pitching Struggles, Oregon Earns Series Sweep Against Stanford
Following a series sweep of then 19th ranked Arizona State, the Oregon Ducks continued its winning ways in a sweep of a struggling Stanford squad. The upset-minded Cardinal were able to hang with the Ducks in spurts during the series, capitalizing on Oregon pitching miscues for some runs. Oregon relied on their bats to offset the Cardinal charge. Timely hitting proved to be the ultimate difference maker in this sweep.
Cheridan Hawkins handled the bulk of the pitching for the Ducks in this series, logging a combined 11 and two-thirds innings pitched. In that span she only gave up four earned runs, which all came in the first game. The Stanford hitters had no answer for Hawkins in her second appearance, which came in relief of junior Jasmine Smithson-Willett. Hawkins fanned nine Cardinal hitters en route to preserving the sweep, and clinching the win.
When Hawkins was not on the mound, however, the pitching for Oregon struggled. In an attempt to find a second arm to complement Hawkins, Oregon Head Coach Mike White elected to start Geri Ann Glasco in the second game. Before Glasco could record an out, she was pulled from the circle due to four consecutive walks. Karissa Hovinga replaced Glasco, finishing the rest of the game. While she was able to pick up her tenth win of the season, Hovinga gave up 10 Cardinal hits and four earned runs. A majority of these runs came off of a grand slam, courtesy of the Cardinal’s Erin Ashby.
While the pitching staff is struggling, the Ducks continue to swing hot bats. The team accumulated 33 hits over the series against the Cardinal. Koral Costa started the series with a clutch seventh inning single to drive in the go ahead run for th Ducks in the first game of the series. In game 2, Nikki Udria’s grand slam put Oregon in the lead in the second game and Janelle Lindvall added four RBIs to lessen the chances of a Cardinal comeback. Glasco excelled offensively, adding two solo homeruns and four RBIs for the series. This offensive firepower was too much for the Cardinal to overcome, setting the stage for the sweep.
Oregon brings their record to 38-5 following Monday’s victory. It also results in Stanford’s ninth consecutive loss, adding to an extremely tough season in Palo Alto. At times, the Ducks did struggle to an inferior Stanford team, but the team was able to maintain its eight game winning streak.
Oregon will host the 9th ranked Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana Lafayette at Howe Field for a three game series. This Ragin’ Cajuns squad boasts one of the country’s top offensive lineups, which will look to potentially expose an Oregon pitching staff that seems to be lacking depth aside from Hawkins. The first game of this showdown between these top 10 heavyweights is slated to begin Friday, April 24th at 4:00 pm in Eugene, Oregon.
