Nikki Udria made sure to rebound from her 0-for-3 game one outing against visiting No. 17-ranked Arizona (32-16, 9-8 Pac-12).
In game two, at a sold out Jane Sanders Stadium, Udria drove home four runs — one solo home run in the first, one three-run homer in the fifth — to lead No. 5-ranked Oregon (37-6, 15-2) to its second straight shutout in a 7-0 win.
“I think she was feeling bad about going 0-for yesterday,” Head Coach Mike White said.
Oregon has now won 10 straight.
“That helps us going forward, hopefully into the postseason,” White said.
It wasn’t just the Oregon offense that was hot; its defense was equally as impressive.
Behind Megan Kleist’s (W, 15-3) first career seven-inning shutout — she gave up no runs, five hits, and recorded two strikeouts — Oregon showcased what White described as its best defensive outing of the season.
“It was really good to see us come with a full effort today as far as high efficiency batting, good pitching, and good defense,” White said.
As part of the shutout, the Oregon defense recorded a pair of double plays and made sure Arizona’s five hits didn’t equate to runs on the board.
In the third, Oregon began to separate itself. Gwen Svekis led off with a double to left. Sammie Puentes, who is coming off a walk-off homer in game one, then stepped up and laid down a picture-perfect bunt single to put runners on the corners. Jenna Lilley capped it off by fouling out to right, bringing home Oregon’s second run.
In the fifth, Udria ignited the crowd again. On a full count, with two runners on, she bombed a three-run homer to right center to take a 5-0 lead. She finished the game 2-for-3, with two homers and four RBI.
Hailey Decker’s two-run homer in the sixth brought home Oregon’s final two runs of the game.
The third and final game of the home series will take place tomorrow at noon. ESPN 2 will televise the game.
“We’re playing fantastic,” Udria said. “Yesterday, we could have done a little bit better offensively, but I think that’s it awesome that we have Cheridan and Megan who can go back-to-back with each other. They’re both doing phenomenal.”
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim