Cheridan Hawkins Pitches One Hit Gem in Rout of Baylor
The fifth ranked Oregon Ducks shut out the seventeenth ranked Baylor Bears in the second game of the NCAA Regionals on Saturday at Jane Sanders Stadium, by a score of 6-0. Oregon’s strong win can be attributed to senior pitcher Cheridan Hawkins who has a 0.42 ERA.
In the top of the first inning, Hawkins was able to strikeout a batter and allowed only one hit for the duration of the game. The one hit Hawkins allowed came in the last inning of play with just two outs remaining. Both teams struggled to find momentum in the beginning of the contest. At the top of the first inning, the Bears struggled to get a successful hit and by the bottom of the first, Baylor pitcher Heather Sterns walked senior Geri Ann Glasco. However, neither team was able to score in the inning.
Oregon’s offense came alive around the bottom of the second inning with Oregon’s Cherish Burks scoring the first run for the team as Koral Costa brought her home with an RBI double, giving the Ducks a 2-0 the lead. The Ducks were able to score every inning after the bottom second. By the bottom of the fourth, Nikki Udria brought in another run with an RBI groundout, bringing the Ducks up 4-0.
The bottom of the sixth is when the Ducks put the game out of reach, with Janelle Lindvall bringing in Koral Costa on a double, making the score a final of 6-0, despite Baylor putting in Gia Rodoni to pitch. Having Hawkins’ solid pitching, put together with Oregon’s blazing defense catching multiple pop-flies and the Oregon offense taking advantage of Baylor’s throwing errors, the Baylor Bears had little to no chance of scoring any runs. Oregon softball will play again in the NCAA Regional final against Baylor tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Jane Sanders Stadium.
