FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Clutch hitting, spectacular defense and a quality start in the circle all added up to an Oregon win in the UO softball team's NCAA Regional opener Friday night. The Ducks scored five runs in the second inning, then held on through a long rain delay and a rally by Notre Dame to beat the Irish, 5-4. Oregon advanced to face regional host Arkansas at Bogle Park on Saturday, after the Razorbacks beat Harvard on Friday night. Stevie Hansen (19-6) went five innings for the Ducks and allowed two runs, while benefiting from stout defense including a robbed home run by center fielder Hanna Delgado. Tehya Bird's three-run homer was the big blow in Oregon's five-run second inning, as the Ducks had seven straight hitters reach base after the first two hitters of the inning were retired. "I thought it was a hard-fought game," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "I loved our offense coming up clutch in the second inning, scoring five runs. I thought our defense made some great plays today, and our pitching on the mound I thought did a good job." How It Happened: At the outset it was Notre Dame coming up clutch, with a two-out RBI single in the first to take the early lead. It might have been more, but Delgado stole what would have been a two-run homer for the second out, limiting the damage.
Hansen then settled in and faced the minimum over her next two innings, buoyed by her defense.
"It just helps me relax and know that whatever happens, they've got me," she said.
Oregon's first five hitters of the game were retired, but patience led to the second-inning rally. Alyssa Daniell and KK Humphreys both worked four-pitch walks with two outs to start the UO rally.
Next up was Bird. She fell behind 1-2, then hit a foul ball down the left-field line that a diving Notre Dame fielder got her glove on but couldn't secure. Still alive, Bird battled back and worked the count full.
"The more pitches that you see, the more on time you get," Bird said. "The more pitches that you get to see from the pitcher, it lets you get on time quicker. So I think just each pitch, making adjustments."
That approach paid off in a big way. The 10th pitch of the at-bat was a changeup, which Bird drilled for a three-run homer — despite initially thinking she was out in front of it, and had popped it up. Fortunately, Bird said, "the ball flies in Arkansas."
The Ducks weren't done, however. Paige Sinicki dropped down a bunt for a single, and she came all the way around on a triple by Kai Luschar. After Delgado walked, Allee Bunker reached on an infield single that scored Luschar for a 5-1 lead.
Oregon was cruising in the fourth inning until, with two out in the bottom of the frame, the rain came. The delay ultimately lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes, after which the Ducks retained the lead but not the momentum.
Hansen remained in the circle and pitched a scoreless fifth, but she left after the leadoff hitter in the sixth reached. Raegan Breedlove entered and got two outs but also allowed an RBI double and a two-run single. Morgan Scott then came and ended the inning with one pitch, with Oregon up 5-4.
The Ducks didn't add on in the bottom of the sixth, but Scott retired the side in order in the seventh to close out her seventh save of the season. She ended the game on the only strikeout of the night by UO pitchers.
"Anything can happen in postseason; nobody's ever out of the game," Lombardi said. "And so it's important to never take a pitch off, and play from the first pitch to the last. And I thought we did a really good job of that."
Notable: The Ducks won their regional opener for the second year in a row, improving to 58-24 all-time in the regional round. … Luschar's triple in the second was the first of her career. … Breedlove made her NCAA Tournament debut, becoming the 17th player on the 21-woman roster with experience in the tournament.
Quotable:
UO coach Melyssa Lombardi on how the Ducks handled the long delay
"Rain delays can be tricky sometimes, but we were loose and ready to go. So I really love how this group responded. We've gotten bad weather all year and they've handled it just great. So I knew that they would do the same thing today."
Sophom*ore pitcher Stevie Hansen on settling in after the first inning
"These are some great hitters, especially at the top of the lineup. … Sometimes it just has to happen where you give up that one run, and then you just hone in and just kind of focus in on what you're doing and on the task at hand."
Up Next: The Ducks will face Arkansas on Saturday (noon PT, ESPN+).
