Balanced Offense, Dominant Pitching Moves Ducks to 6-0

Box Score - Oregon 10, Fresno State 2 | Boxscore

FRESNO, Calif. – Oregon bounced back after trailing through one inning by scoring nine unanswered runs behind a balanced offensive attack and a dominant effort in the circle in a 10-2 win over Fresno State.
 
The Ducks improved to 6-0 on the season thanks to Brooke Yanez's complete game, 12-strikeout effort while seven different players drove in a run and all nine starters recorded a hit.
 
How it Happened: The Ducks jumped out to an early lead with a run in the top of the first. Haley Cruse led off the game with a walk and eventually came around to score on an Allee Bunker RBI fielder's choice to make it 1-0. Fresno State answered in the bottom half with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead after the first.
 
Oregon responded immediately by sending nine to the plate and putting up a five-spot in the second. Alyssa Brito led off the inning with a solo shot to left center to tie it up, then the Ducks loaded the bases with one out for the top of the order. Cruse drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly, before Terra McGowan made it 4-2 on an RBI single. Rachel Cid followed with a two-run double to right center, scoring McGowan and Lexi Wagner, stretching the lead to 6-2.
 
Wagner drove in two more Oregon runs in the third, ending a long at-bat with a two-out single that scored Ariel Carlson and Mya Felder, making it 8-2. The Ducks added two more in the seventh, with Brito driving in another run with an RBI triple and Carlson delivering a run-scoring single to cap off the scoring.
 
Yanez got off to a rough start allowing the two runs in the first inning, but was dialed in from the second inning on. After giving up a one-out double in the second, she got the next two batters before going on to set the Bulldogs down in order the final five innings, retiring the last 17 batters she faced overall. She got stronger as the game went on, striking out five of the final six she faced.
 
Quotable: Infielder Alyssa Brito
On if her hot finish at the plate last week carried over to tonight…
"I think that I created a lot of momentum with those RBIs last weekend and brought it into this weekend. But I think tonight us getting down in the first inning, we just wanted to pick up Brooke, so we just tried to have her back and score some runs."
 
Notable: Oregon has started 6-0 in all three years under head coach Melyssa Lombardi and five straight seasons dating back to 2017 … Seven different Oregon players drove in the 10 runs while all nine starters recorded hits … Brito went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a triple and her first career home run … She's had six hits in the last three games, going 6-for-9 over that stretch … Yanez struck out double-digit batters for the second straight game and has fanned at least eight in each of her three appearances … She has 30 strikeouts to just three walks over 18 innings pitched on the season … Her 12 strikeouts tonight are the second-most she's had in a single game in her Oregon career … Carlson turned in her second career three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI … Wagner drove in multiple runs for the second straight game, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored … The Ducks now have 16 doubles on the season as a team after coming into the week tied for the national lead in two-baggers.
 
On Deck: The Ducks and Bulldogs meet again Sunday morning at 10 a.m. (Fresno State Live Stream).