EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon defeated Mount St. Mary’s 10-2, but fell to Maryland, 4-0, Friday at the Jane Sanders Classic.
KK Humphreys continued to enjoy home cooking at Jane Sanders Stadium, going 4-for-6 on the day, including a three-run home run in the sixth inning against Mount St. Mary’s that ended the game visa the run rule. That aside, the day did not go the way the Ducks had hoped.
“Tomorrow, I think you’re going to see a team that’s going to come out not happy with what we did today and absolutely competes and looks different than what you saw today,” said head coach Melyssa Lombardi, whose team has a rematch with the Terrapins Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Game 1 – Oregon 10, Mount St. Mary’s 2
How it Happened: After Mount St. Mary’s (2-8) scored an unearned run off Elise Sokolsky in the top on the first inning, Kai Luschar answered by leading off the bottom of the first with a triple into the left center field gap that extended her hitting streak to nine games. Ariel Carlson followed with a single to drive in Luschar and then she stole second.
One batter later, Alyssa Daniell’s hit plated Carlson and the Ducks led 2-1. Two outs later, Emma Kauf singled into left field to drive in Carlson and Vallery Wong, making it 4-1 Oregon after one inning.
The Mountaineers put up another run in the top of the second, but again Oregon (11-8) responded. Luschar and Carlson both walked and both runners scored when Wong doubled to deep center field, making it 6-2.
The Ducks used their speed to pick up another run in the fifth. Humphreys singled and stole second and Ayanna Shaw reached on an error. Two outs later, the two runners executed a double steal and Humphreys came around to score when the catcher’s throw got away from third base.
Humphreys ended the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the sixth. Carlson and Daniell both singled and with two outs, Humphreys crushed a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left center, giving the Ducks an eight-run lead and a victory via the run rule.
Humphreys went 3-for-4 with four RBI against the Mountaineers and matched her career high with three stolen bases. Carlson and Daniell had two hits each.
Freshman Taylour Spencer came on in relief in the second inning and threw 4.2 innings of one-hit ball to improve to 4-1 on the season. She struck out three batters and didn’t allow any runs.
Game 2 – Maryland 4, Oregon 0
How it Happened: The Terrapins (6-11) scored twice in the first inning and twice in the fourth inning as Courtney Wyche threw a complete-game four-hitter.
Shaw, Humphreys, Tehya Bird and Paige Sinicki all had hits for the Ducks.
Oregon had runners on second and third in the third inning following Sinicki’s hit, but could not push any runs across.
Stevie Hansen continued to have success in the circle at The Jane. She threw three shutout innings in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out four and walking one. Hansen picked up her first win of the season Thursday after throwing three scoreless innings against Mount St. Mary’s.
“I think the positive takeaway from today is that our defense played well,” said Lombardi. “I thought Stevie (Hansen) came in in relief and pitched really well. That’s why it’s so important to have a staff.
“I think it’s just on us; we had some good momentum – we threw a runner out at the plate – just to be able to take that momentum from defense to offense. Usually when we are at our best, we just flip back and forth from offense to defense and I think we flipped enough in this game to do that.”
Hansen agreed.
“I think we are a little disappointed,” she said. “We were hoping to do a little better. I think we all have this fighter mindset that it won’t happen again, and I think we are going to push each otherevery day to learn what we can do better.”
Quotable
P Stevie Hansen on the adjustments she made this weekend
“I think I have been working on my mental game. I haven’t had the best start this season. I have been working with coach one-on-one a lot this season to figure things out mentally and allow things to go on the field. Now, I feel more relaxed and it has been nice playing at home this weekend. I’ve had my family here and my aunt watching, so seeing them in the stands supporting me has been freeing and helping me relax.”
Humphreys Heating Up: In the three games thus far in the Jane Sanders Classic, Humphreys is 7-for-9 (.778) with three home runs and nine RBI. She has also stolen three bases.
Noteworthy: Shaw, a freshman from Lemon Grove, Calif., picked up her first career hit in the game against Mount St. Mary’s … A couple of lengthy streaks came to an end for Luschar in the Maryland game. She had reached base in all 18 games this season before failing to do so against the Terrapins. Her career-best nine-game hitting streak also came to a close … Carlson tied a career high by scoring three runs against Mount St. Mary’s … Long-time senior associate athletic director Herb Yamanaka threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
On Deck: The Jane Sanders Classic concludes with three games Saturday. Oregon and Maryland will play again at 12:30 p.m. Washington and Mount St. Mary’s will get the day going with a game at 10. The Mountaineers and Huskies will play again at 3 p.m. to finish the tournament.
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