It’s been no secret that Oregon ace pitcher Cheridan Hawkins has struggled throughout the early part of the year. Entering the Ducks’ home-opener, Hawkins was a respectable 8-2 but boasted a 3.30 ERA as she struggled by consistently leaving pitches up in the zone.
That all changed Thursday.
Hawkins threw a complete game two-hitter against Stanford as struck out 14 Cardinal batters in leading the Ducks to a 2-0 win. With the victory, Oregon improved to 24-4 overall and 4-0 in Pac-12 play while Stanford dropped to 11-12 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
“Just being aggressive really helped,” Hawkins said of her performance. “My team did a great job of scoring those runs in the first inning so that makes you feel good — you have some room to be aggressive and attack your corners and that’s just something I tried to go with.”
The game didn’t get off to the best start for Hawkins as she walked the first batter on four consecutive pitches. But she recovered quickly and struck out the next three batters she faced.
It didn’t take long for Oregon’s potent offense to get going as Alyssa Gillespie got things started when she led off the bottom of the first inning with a bunt single. Later in the inning, Koral Costa would walk before Gillespie advanced to third on a sac fly as Costa moved up on a stolen base. With two outs and two on, Jenna Lilley blooped a single in shallow center for the first and only runs of the game.
The Ducks’ offense stalled from there as they only got two more hits the rest of the game.
The more Oregon’s offense struggled against Stanford’s pitching, the better Hawkins became. She recorded four strikeouts in the second inning after one of her strikeout victims reached first on a passed ball.
After surrendering hits in the second and third innings, Hawkins recorded perfect innings in the fourth, fifth and seventh in her most dominant performance of the season.
“She started things off with a walk and then struck the next five or six out,” Oregon head coach Mike White said of Hawkins. “She kind of got herself in a little bit of trouble and then struck people out — that’s kind of what Cheridan does to me, makes me grayer and older [but] at least she got the strikeouts.”
The game itself was significant in many ways as it was the first game ever played at Jane Sanders Stadium, the new home of the Oregon softball program. While Gillespie got the first hit and Lilley got the first RBI’s, Hawkins was given the distinct honor of throwing the first pitch and officially opening the stadium.
“It’s an absolute honor to be chosen to throw the first pitch in this stadium and on that mound,” Hawkins said. “He [White] could’ve picked any four of us [other pitchers] but he picked me so it’s an honor to be able to throw that first pitch.”
Oregon returns to action Friday when it plays game two of the three-game series against Stanford at 6 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka