Ducks Open Series with Extra-Inning Win
TEMPE, Ariz. – After losing an early lead, Oregon responded by scoring single runs in the sixth and ninth innings to open a big series at No. 12 Arizona State with a 6-5 win in extra innings Friday at Farrington Stadium.
Allee Bunker paced the offense by driving in four runs, including the tying run, while Makenna Kliethermes and Raegan Breedlove combined for six innings of one-run relief while allowing just two hits and striking out five.
How it Happened: Terra McGowan led off the ninth inning with a single to right field before being sacrificed over to second base. After a pop up, Rachel Cid legged out an infield single to bring up Mya Felder with two outs. Felder hit a first-pitch grounder to shortstop that was booted, allowing McGowan to score from third and make it 6-5.
Breedlove came out of the bullpen to start the bottom of the ninth and got the first two batters she faced before hitting the next to put a runner at first with two outs. She came right back and pounded the zone, getting the batter to ground out to end the game.
Bunker put the Ducks in front right off the bat, blasting a two-run shot out to left field two batters in to score Haley Cruse, who led off with a single. Shaye Bowden added to the lead with a homer to left field to start the second inning, before Bunker again delivered with an RBI single to make it 4-0, Ducks.
The Sun Devils (28-12, 9-7 Pac-12) struck for five runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. Maddi Hackbarth led off the inning with a homer before Makenna Harper hit a three-run shot to chase Oregon starter Brooke Yanez. ASU added another solo homer off Kliethermes to go in front, 5-4.
The Ducks (31-10, 9-7 Pac-12) answered with a run in the sixth inning to tie things up at five. Bowden led off the inning with a single before pinch-runner Hannah Galey moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a flyout. Bunker came up with two outs and delivered once again by dropping a single down the right field line to score Galey.
Kliethermes (7-4) worked out of some trouble in the seventh and eighth innings. She stranded a one-out double in the seventh to send it to extras before working around a leadoff walk in the eighth with a couple of lineouts, the first of which was a double play to give the Ducks a chance to take the lead in the ninth.
Quotable: Senior Shaye Bowden
On opening the series with a win…
"We talked about having that passion and joy for the game, and I really think we came out and left it all out there. We've been really working through things this week so I really enjoyed seeing that today."
Notable: The Ducks played an extra inning game for the first time this year and the first time since March 8, 2020 … Oregon improved to 5-0 in one-run games this season … The Ducks are also 16-3 in games decided by three runs or less … Oregon won when trailing after five innings for the first time this year … Cruse moved into a tie for eighth in career runs scored at Oregon, matching Kaylan Howard (2010-13) with 146 … Bunker drove in at least four runs for the third time this year and at least three runs for the sixth time … Bowden turned in her third multi-hit game in the her last four, going 2-for-5 with the homer … The top four in Oregon's order – Cruse, Bunker and McGowan – combined to go 7-for-14 with four RBIs and four runs scored.
On Deck: The two teams continue the series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.