The Ducks softball team continued its winning ways to start conference play.

The Ducks (27-0) topped Cal 10-2 to earn the series sweep and remain perfect on the season.

“If you’re going to win the championship, you’re going to want to put some sweeps behind you, because this conference is very tough,” head coach Mike White said.

For the third straight game in the series, Cal took the early lead. The Golden Bears manufactured a run in the first inning without getting a hit, scoring on an error by first baseman Mia Camuso.

But as they did in the first two games of the series, the Ducks responded, scoring three runs in the second inning on only one hit.

“Every time we play on the field, we have a scrappy mentality,” said Danica Mercado, who scored two runs for the Ducks. “I think that feeds into our attitude on offense.”

The Ducks didn’t look back, run-ruling the Golden Bears in five innings.

After Kleist retired the Bears in order in the top of the third, the Ducks tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it 5-2. The floodgates opened up in the fifth inning: the Ducks scored four times on three hits and a pair of walks to put the game out of reach.

“We’ve got to be scrappy. We don’t care how we do it,” said White. “The most important stat to us on the scoreboard is the W.”

Mercado reached base to lead off the fifth inning on an error. She scored the final run of the game on a sac-fly from Camuso.

Megan Kleist (9-0) got the start on the mound for the series finale. The sophomore did her job — allowing one run on five hits, only walking one.

“She mixes speeds pretty well,” said White. “She can be pretty tough to hit.”

The Ducks’ offense had another shot at Cal’s Zoe Conley, after facing her in the series opener on Friday night. The Ducks scored five runs and didn’t get their first hit out of the infield until Nikki Udria smacked a double down the left-field line.

Conley was not nearly as sharp on Sunday, walking seven Oregon batters.

Besides the early error from Camuso, the Ducks were otherwise solid defensively. Infielders Udria and Lilley each made a handful of plays to help contain the Golden Bears offensive attack.

The Ducks travel to Utah for a three-game series beginning March 25. They have a chance to leave Salt Lake City with a 30-0 record.

“Utah has excellent pitching,” said White. “They’re a team that fights.”

Follow Cole Kundich on Twitter @ckundich

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