As one Oregon softball streak came to an end, another is still alive and well.
After defeating Sam Houston State and No. 22 Texas A&M, the Ducks streak of 10 straight wins to open a season is the best start in program history, surpassing the 9-0 start in 1989.
Cheridan Hawkins finally proved mortal after she gave up her first run on the season in the win over Texas A&M, but it didn’t matter with how Oregon’s offense played.
The Ducks totaled 19 runs on the day, including a multi-home run day for centerfielder Koral Costa.
Game 1: Oregon 14 – Sam Houston State 4 (5 innings): After facing their first adversity of the season, the Ducks responded in a way that showed true dominance.
Oregon fell behind 3-0 and 4-1 after the first and second innings, but went on to score the final 13 runs of the game and earn the run-rule victory over Sam Houston State.
Entering the third trailing by three, the Ducks scored five runs in the inning to take the lead for good. Alyssa Gillespie got the rally started with a solo homerun while Geri Ann Glasco added an RBI double and Costa dded a two-run blast.
The fourth inning saw the Ducks add to the lead when Glasco added a two-RBI double and true freshman Gwen Svekis hit her first career homerun, a three-run blast. Later in the inning, Costa hit her homerun of the game, another two-run bomb while Glasco added an RBI single for her second hit of the inning.
Glass started the game in the circle and earned the win while true freshman Cheyenne Powell made her collegiate debut with a scoreless fifth inning.
Game 2: Oregon 5 – Texas A&M 1: Hawkins was the star of the game as she threw the complete seven innings and gave up just one run on four hits with nine strikeouts. As the game came closer to the end, Hawkins grew stronger by throwing a perfect 6th and 7th inning to seal the win.
Danica Mercado got the Ducks’ bats going after hitting solo homerun in the second inning. But the Aggies responded with their own solo blast in the third inning.
The score remained tied until Oregon took the lead for good in the fifth inning.
Mercado was once again the catalyst, leading off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nikki Udria. After another out and a walk put runners at the corners, true freshman Jenna Lilley stepped to the plate and hit a ball down the left field line to score Mercado.
The Ducks put the stamp on things when they scored three runs in the seventh inning.
Lilley, Glasco and Decker all had RBI’s in the frame to give Hawkins more than enough support for the final inning. Lilley, Glasco, Mercado and Gillespie all finished the game with two hits each.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka