Powerful Offense and Pitching Guide Ducks to Oklahoma City
The Oregon Softball team benefitted from stellar pitching by Karissa Hovinga and Cheridan Hawkins en route to clinching a 9-3 victory over NC State in the second game of the Super Regionals. This win cemented the team’s spot in the Women’s College Softball World Series for the second year in a row. Hovinga threw 5 total innings, allowing only one earned run from a Renada Davis home run. She was pulled after throwing one pitch in the sixth inning, and was given a standing ovation in her final home appearance. During this game, she notched her 12th win of the season.
Cheridan Hawkins closed out the game, striking out six of seven batters she faced. The one hit that Hawkins did give up was a late homerun by Sara Lippard of NC State to begin the seventh inning. This homerun was sandwiched by three consecutive strikeouts in the sixth inning and three consecutive in the seventh inning as well.
The offense for the Ducks was slow out of the gates, but it picked up significantly in the third inning. Danica Mercado got the first hit of the game in the third inning. Nikki Udria singled Mercado home to give Oregon the early lead. Udria totaled two hits and two RBI. Four other Ducks added an RBI each, and Janelle Lindvall made the lead insurmountable for the Wolfpack in the seventh inning, hitting a three run homerun.
The combination of stellar pitching and timely offense have paced Oregon throughout the season, leading them to 51-6 record heading into Oklahoma City. The team looks to maintain its elite level of play in a field of teams that includes SEC powerhouses Florida, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee while there will be appearences from the Big Ten in Michigan along with fellow PAC 12 foe UCLA. Oregon will take on UCLA in the first game in the Women’s College Softball World Series on Thursday May 28th in Oklahoma City.
