Ducks Pound Out 11 Hits in 5-1 Win

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 22 Oregon racked up 11 hits – matching the team's season-best for a Pac-12 game – to defeat Stanford 5-1 Saturday at Smith Family Stadium and even the series at one game apiece.
 
Terra McGowan lead the Ducks with three hits, while six other Ducks had base hits on Saturday.
 
In the circle, Makenna Kliethermes (9-5) won her second straight decision by allowing one run on four hits in 5.2 innings and was backed by some elite, error-free fielding behind her.
 
"We did a great job executing in all three areas of the game – hitting, pitching and defense," said head coach Melyssa Lombardi. "When we have all three cylinders firing like that, it shows what this team is capable of."
 
How it Happened: The Ducks never trailed in winning their 30th game of the season. McGowan got things going early by leading the game off with a single to right field. She moved to second on Hanna Delgado's grounder to the right side, before Allee Bunker launched her first triple of the season off the wall in center field, bringing McGowan home for the game's first run.
 
Oregon (30-17, 9-14) scored three runs with two outs in the second inning. Tehya Bird and Jasmine Williams hit back-to-back singles before McGowan slapped a single in to right field for the second time in the game to score a run.
 
With runners on second and third, Delgado chopped a hit over third base to score two more runs, giving the Ducks a 4-0 lead.
 
The Ducks used their speed to score another run in the third inning. Ariel Carlson and KK Humphreys singled. Carlson moved up 60 feet on Vallery Wong's fielder's choice, giving Oregon runners on first and third. With Bird at the plate, Kedre Luschar, who pinch-ran for Wong, broke for second, drawing a throw from Stanford catcher Aly Kaneshiro. Carlson then broke for home on a delayed steal as Luschar retreated to first and scored the Ducks' fifth run of the game on their 79th stolen base of the season.
 
Meanwhile, Kliethermes cruised through the first five innings, allowing only one runner to reach scoring position when Taylor Gindlesperge walked on a 3-2 pitch in the third and stole second. Kliethermes retired the next two Cardinal batters on a strike out and a pop up to end the inning.
 
After Stanford (34-17, 9-11) scored its lone run of the game on an RBI ground out in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jordan Dail came on in relief of Kliethermes and retired all four batters she faced to seal the win for Oregon.
 
Oregon's defense was on-point in posting the team's eighth error-free outing in the last 11 games. A handful of plays stood out. Bird, after making an impressive catch of a high line drive at first base in Friday's game, moved to third on Saturday and snared Kaneshiro's line drive in the second inning that was headed down the line.
 
Paige Sinicki was involved in some highlight reel plays for Oregon, one of which could be in the running for the defensive play of the year. In the bottom of the fourth, Kaneshiro popped a fly ball into shallow left field. Sinicki retreated from her shortstop position and launched herself into a flat-out dive while sprinting backward to rob Kaneshiro of a base hit.
 
"I just ran as hard as I could back and just put my glove out there and when I got it, I was super pumped about it," said Sinicki, . "I was like, I got this one. I'm going to do it for the team."
 
Noteworthy: Oregon also had 11 hits April 14 at Arizona. … The Ducks didn't commit an error for the 24th time this season. … McGowan went 3-for-4 on Saturday, raising her batting average in Pac-12 games to .423 (22-of-52). … She has at least one hit in 12 of the last 13 Conference games. … Bunker and Humphreys both had two hits Saturday. … It was Humphrey's first multi-game game since April 14 at Arizona. … Bunker knocked in her team-leading 38th RBI of the season, while Delgado raised her season total to 24.
 
Quotable
Catcher Terra McGowan
"I think last night after the game, we really willed ourselves to get back to the drawing board and make some major adjustments and I think we all bought into the adjustments and you could really see that today."
 
On Deck: The Oregon-Stanford series wraps up Sunday at 12 p.m. (Pac-12 Network).
 
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