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University of Oregon Athletics

Saturday, May 11
Eugene, OR
12:00 PM

University of Oregon

4
vs
12

Arizona State

Seniors Pregame
Photo by: Samuel Marshall

Senior Day Caps 2019 Season

05/11/19 | Softball

The Oregon Ducks wrapped up their 2019 season with a loss to Arizona State in six innings.

EUGENE, Ore. — Cherish Burks made her senior day a memorable one Saturday, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs in Oregon softball's 2019 finale, a 12-4 loss to Arizona State in six innings at Jane Sanders Stadium.

Wrapping up a season marked by extensive roster turnover that saw freshmen and reserves thrust into leading roles, Burks tied her career high with three hits and drove in multiple runs in a Pac-12 game for the first time in her career.

"This team will always be known for its fight, and their willingness to put the team before themselves," first-year coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "… I just can't say enough about this team and how proud I am of them, and all they've accomplished. You can look at our wins and losses and say, 'Well …,' but to be, unbelievable. Because I don't know another team that could fight through all of this."

How It Happened: For the first time in the series, UO starter Jordan Dail threw a 1-2-3 first inning and Oregon took an early lead. Freshmen Allee Bunker and Jasmine Sievers opened the bottom of the first with back-to-back doubles, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

Arizona State tied it in the second, but Burks put Oregon (22-30) back in front in the bottom of the inning when she led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Bailey Cook. Cook's fellow walk-on, Annalisa Williamson, worked a seven-pitch walk with one out one batter before, keeping the sacrifice fly in play when Cook came to the plate with Burks on third.

ASU broke the game open with six runs in the third, however. The Ducks did manage to answer again, on a two-run single by Burks in the bottom of the inning. But The Sun Devils added on with three in the fourth and scored twice in the sixth to set the stage for the run-rule win in six.

At The Plate: Both Burks and Bunker had three-hit games, and the Ducks rapped out five doubles on the day. Burks had her first career multi-hit game against a Pac-12 opponent, and matched the career-high three hits she had in Oregon's season opener this spring.

 

"My motto this whole season was, 'enjoy the moment,' " Burks said. "And I really internalized that today. Everything I wanted to do, I was gonna leave no regrets. I was gonna take in the fans and take in the smells and really capture playing at The Jane, because it's so special."

The Ducks played without junior center fielder Haley Cruse, who was not in uniform. Cruse, Oregon's leading hitter with a .348 average in 2019, was unavailable, Lombardi said.

In the Circle: Dail made her 39th start of the season, and finished the year 18-18 with 248 innings pitched after being removed in the third Saturday with the Ducks trailing 7-1. She ended the year eighth on the UO single-season list for innings pitched, and second in the NCAA in the 2019 regular season.

"She gave everything we wanted; we couldn't be more thankful for what she did," senior catcher April Utecht said. "It was amazing, throwing so many innings. No matter what the circumstance was, she went out and did her job. As a senior I couldn't be more thankful for that."

 

Rachel Cid finished the game in the circle, and also provided a sparking defensive play by snaring a comebacker in the fifth to start a double play. Freshman second baseman Allee Bunker also was stellar in the field, fielding five groundballs on a variety of short hops.

Up Next: Oregon's 2019 season comes to a close in the regular season for the first time since 2009.