The Oregon women’s team made history on Saturday, the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. With a final score of 64 points, Oregon edged out Georgia by 1.8 points. It came down to the last event because of a mishap in the 200-meter final.

Oregon became the first women’s team to win the triple crown — an NCAA title in cross country, indoor and outdoor.

After finishing as the runner-up in the 100-meter, Deajah Stevens seemed like she was going to win the 200. She had been locked in a battle with Florida’s Kyra Jefferson, but just when Stevens looked as if she was about to edge her out, she tumbled to the ground. She received a DNF.

She lied in a crumpled heap as the rest of the competitors, including teammate Ariana Washington, ran past her. Washington finished in second before returning to the track to help up her fallen teammate.

“It’s always hard when you see somebody go down like that,” Washington said. “My heart hurts so bad for her. When I saw her fall during the race, my first instinct was to turn around and go get her.”

Because she was helped up, Stevens was disqualified from the race, a technicality which would end up helping the Ducks later in the meet.

“It was frustrating, and it was upsetting,” Stevens said. “But, I was able to get over it quickly and know that I had to go out there and do what I needed to do.”

Stevens was able to redeem herself in the 4×400 relay. Oregon needed to win the event to win the whole competition. If the relay team had finished second, Oregon would have lost by .02 points.

After Makenzie Dunmore started the relay off for the Ducks, Deajah Stevens ran the second leg, bringing the Ducks into a battle with USC. Elexis Guster ended up finishing the third leg in first place, but USC wasn’t far behind.

It came down to Raevyn Rogers, who had just become the first woman to win her fifth NCAA title in the 800-meter. She and USC’s Kendall Ellis fought for first for the entirety of the race, but it was Rogers who ended up as the victor. Oregon finished in a collegiate record-breaking time of 3 minutes 23.13 seconds, just 0.2 seconds before USC.

But Oregon’s celebration would have to wait since Georgia decided to make two protests. It argued that Stevens should not have been in the relay in the first place because it was originally announced that Stevens had been given a DNF as opposed to a disqualification. Because Washington had helped her, Stevens was given a disqualification instead, allowing her to compete in the relay.

Georgia then argued that Oregon had impeded USC during the 4×400 relay, but this was found to be false.

When the protests were refuted, the Ducks began to celebrate once again, refusing to allow the pouring rain and hail dampen their spirits.

“When they prepared us for this meet, our sports psychologist told us about American Pharaoh,” Rogers said referring the Triple Crown-winning racehorse. “She saw a commercial about American Pharaoh and how he had the biggest heart out of the other horses, so we wanted to go into NCAAs with a big heart.”

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After winning the cross country and indoor championship titles earlier this year, the women’s track and field team is working towards a historic triple crown. On Thursday, during qualifying rounds on the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the team took its first step towards this achievement, but it wasn’t pretty.

After Hannah Cunliffe’s season prematurely ended due to a hamstring injury, Oregon’s hopes of sweeping the 100 and 200-meters evaporated. In addition to Cunliffe’s injury, the 4×100-meter relay team was disqualified during West Regionals, so the sprinters potential point value during the championships significantly fell. On Thursday, its potential point value almost fell even further.

The two remaining Oregon sprinters, Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington, almost didn’t make it through the 100-meter qualifying round. After finishing in 11.29 and 11.26 seconds, respectively, both had to make it through to the finals based on time.

“It was terrifying,” Washington said. “It’s never a good feeling to have. We both have never been in that position before.”

Later in the 200-meter, though she wasn’t happy with her results, Stevens finished with the fastest time overall in 22.31 seconds. Washington had to get through based on her time, but after running 22.60 for the third fastest time overall, she too made it through to the finals.

“It wasn’t the way I wanted to open up this weekend,” Stevens said. “I had different thoughts on how I wanted to execute my races, but things are still coming together.”

Meanwhile, teammate Raevyn Rogers, the heavy favorite in the event, finished with the  second slowest qualifying time of 2 minutes and 5.63 seconds. Throughout the race, she stayed near the front, setting a slow pace to conserve energy for the 4×400-meter relay she was due to run in later. While the other competitors waited for her to make her move, Rogers only sped up during the final straightaway, finishing more than a second before the next closest competitor.

The Oregon women’s team also barely made it out of the 100-meter hurdles. Although Alaysha Johnson won her heat in 12.87 seconds, Sasha Wallace was less fortunate. She finished with the last qualifying time in 13.10.

However, Wallace may be a little rusty since she hasn’t raced in many meets after tearing her quad at the Mt. Sac Relays. A couple weeks ago, she wasn’t able to defend her Pac-12 title after scratching due to her injury. Because of that, the NCAA qualifying round was the first race she ran run in months.

After the injury, Wallace wasn’t even sure she would be able to compete on Thursday.

“When I got the initial news on what type of injury it was, I didn’t know how to go about it,” Wallace said. “I’ve never really been injured throughout my college career.”

Despite these issues, most of the Oregon women made it through to the finals. Brooke Feldmeier made a statement in the women’s 800-meter by claiming the fastest time overall to qualify for her first NCAA final with a time of 2 minutes, 3.43 seconds.

After the race, Feldmeier threw up the Oregon “O” to the cheering Hayward Field crowd.

“I was just so excited,” Feldmeier said. “This is my third outdoor nationals. I’ve never made a final out here before. This is my home track, and I just wanted to make something happen.”

On Saturday, the women’s team will compete in the finals, hoping for the triple crown. No women’s track and field team has ever accomplished this feat.

“We all know what’s on the line,” said Katie Rainsberger, who qualified in the 1,500-meter. “And we all know it’s going to take something special.”

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On June 7, the nation’s best track and field athletes will descend on Hayward Field for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Oregon’s 4×100-meter relay team, one of, if not the best in the country, however, will not be among them.

At the NCAA West Regionals, Oregon’s collegiate record-breaking relay team was disqualified when Deajah Stevens stepped out of her lane. Since only the top 12 relay teams could compete at the outdoor championships, the Ducks missed out on arguably their best chance to claim the NCAA 4×100-meter relay title that has eluded them for years.

Once known primarily as a distance school, Oregon has evolved itself into a sprinting destination after hiring Curtis Taylor as the sprints and hurdles coach in 2014. But even though Oregon has produced some of the best sprinters in the nation, from former Ducks Jenna Prandini and English Gardner, to the current trio of juniors Hannah Cunliffe, Ariana Washington and Stevens, it still hasn’t won the relay title.

This season felt like it was the Ducks’ year, but that is no longer a possibility after the disqualification. It’s a tough end to what was already a rocky, though hopeful, season. Nevertheless, each member of the team may be back next year for one final go.

When the Oregon 4×100-meter relay team was up, it was sky high. During the team’s opener at the Florida Relays, the Ducks shot to the top of the NCAA leaderboard after they broke the collegiate record of 42.36 second set in 2009 by Texas A&M. Oregon finished in 42.34 seconds.

That was back in the beginning of April when the Oregon track and field outdoor season was just getting underway. Since it was the team’s first race, spectators believe that they peaked too early.

“Our relay has had its up and downs this season,” said Oregon junior Deajah Stevens.

Oregon sprinters Deajah Stevens, Ariana Washington, and Hannah Cunliffe embrace each other after placing first, second, and third respectively in the woman’s 100-meter. (Kiara Green/Emerald)

The team believed it could do even better.

“A collegiate record is always a goal of ours,” redshirt sophomore Ariana Washington said. “We just didn’t think we would get it the first time out. “We made some mistakes, so we’re excited to know that we’re going to run faster.”

They did. Two weeks later, the Ducks travelled down to California for the Mt. Sac Relays and smashed their own record by finishing in 42.12 seconds.

They had many high points, but also their share of low ones, too. And, when they were down, it was heartbreaking.

Since the beginning of the season, the Oregon women sprinters made it a goal to win the NCAA 4×100-meter relay title, which they feel was stolen from them the year prior.

“It’s always at the back of our minds. We were talking about it in the summer. It’s a really big goal for us,” Stevens said. “At the beginning of the season last year, we were dominating, and we were like, ‘We’re going to do this. We’re going to take it all the way to nationals’.”

Last year, the Ducks seemed like a shoe-in for the title. They had the top time in the NCAA with 42.68 seconds. But after taking the Pac-12 title and breaking the meet record, everything fell apart.

The misfortune started with an injury to Hannah Cunliffe and continued with academic issues with Jasmine Todd. Because of that, the Ducks ran two alternates. The revised team still finished in third, but after dominating for the entirety of last year’s outdoor season, the finish left a sour taste in the Ducks’ mouths.

Although it is impressive that Oregon’s sprinting squad is so deep that the Ducks can run two alternates and still finish on the podium, it’s unsurprising because of their recent success in the sprints.

Under Taylor, more than 25 sprinters and hurdlers have earned All-American honors, while three of them took home NCAA titles: Phyllis Francis, Prandini and Washington, who won both the 100 and 200-meter last year.

Oregon’s sprinters have also made a name for themselves internationally. At the 2015 IAAF World Championships, three members of the American 4×100-meter relay team were former Oregon sprinters. Prandini, Gardner and Jasmine Todd joined up with Allyson Felix to take the silver medal.

“We’ve been able to develop that talent with what coach Taylor has been able to do there on the sprint side of things,” Oregon head coach Robert  Johnson said.

But, still no 4×100-meter relay title.

“Kind of been snake-bitten with that relay,” Johnson said. “I say that because we went into last year with the fastest 4×100-meter collegiate time, and then of course, we had some adversity of our own that didn’t allow us to run the team that ran earlier in the year. We feel like it’s unfinished business.”

Oregon sprinter Makenzie Dunmore cheers on teammate Ariana Washington during the final leg of the woman’s 4×100-meter. (Kiara Green/Emerald)

The Ducks were snake-bitten yet again this year and faced even more adversity.

After Todd graduated, Oregon needed to find another sprinter to fill the void. In came freshman Makenzie Dunmore, who heard of Oregon’s sprinting prowess all the way in Georgia. Primarily a 400-meter runner, Dunmore found a place as the starting leg for the Ducks’ relay after racing in the 60-meter dash during a couple of indoor meets.

“Makenzie had a huge impact,” Cunliffe said. “She has good starts; she’s very powerful.”

Though she fits in well with the team and has helped them break the collegiate record and school record, when Cunliffe needed to be replaced, it was not so seamless.

While the team traveled to the Penn Relays, where they added a meet record to their growing list of accomplishments, Cunliffe stayed home. According to Johnson, she had been hospitalized with flu-like symptoms, forcing her to drop out of the line-up. Alaysha Johnson, primarily a 100-meter hurdler, ran in her place.

At first, Cunliffe’s absence wasn’t that noticeable. She again didn’t run during the Pac-12 Championships, and Oregon still took the 4×100-meter relay title for the second year in a row.

During the prelims, despite the fact that Oregon came away with the top time of the day after finishing in 43.84 seconds, they were only one-hundredth of a second in front of USC’s team. Stevens believes that the hand-offs weren’t clean enough, hence the increased time.

The next day, during the finals, the Ducks won handily by crossing the line in 42.81 seconds. Stevens believed it was due to the much improved exchanges.

“The exchanges went a lot smoother today,” Alaysha Johnson said. “It’s really crazy because at any moment, anyone can be put out there. We just try to make sure we do everything in our ability to make sure we get the stick around, and that’s what we did, so I’m glad we came off with the win.”

Cunliffe was set to participate in the relay during regionals and believed that with her inclusion, the Ducks would race even better.

“I think, for sure, we’ll go 41 [seconds],” Cunliffe said after finishing in third after Stevens and Washington in the 100-meter at the Pac-12 Championships. “I wanted to run today, but I think it was best that I stayed out a bit. I’m just ready to get back into it at regionals.”

She didn’t get back into the line-up. Instead, her season prematurely ended for the second year in a row because of a hamstring injury.

Even though the inclusion of Cunliffe may not have had any impact on the disqualification in the relay, Duck fans will be left thinking about what could have been.

Still, since none of the four women who formed the collegiate record-breaking team are graduating, there is always next year, and Robert Johnson still has faith.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

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In March, Cody Danielson left his track and field future in the hands of luck.

While driving an all-terrain vehicle, the Oregon redshirt sophomore got into a freak accident when a rope sliced off parts of two of his fingers. Half of one finger was severed, while the other fingertip barely hung on.

The injury was to his left hand. Fortunately, Danielson is a right-handed javelin thrower, but the injury still set him back.

“It totally set me back physically, but one of the biggest things was mentally,” he said. “I was out for three weeks, just not being able to do anything.”

He blames the mental setback for his slow start to this season. At both the Florida Relays and the Penn Relays, he threw around the 226-foot mark, placing fourth and fifth in the meets, respectively.

But, a week before the Pac-12 Championships, Danielson managed to get his confidence back in time  to repeat his surprise win from last year. By throwing 238 feet, 10 inches on his fifth attempt, he took first place at the Oregon Twilight.

“I was pretty happy that I had that throw,” he said. “It hadn’t been going well before the Twilight meet, and now that I was able to get that throw, it really boosted my confidence.”

At last year’s Pac-12 Championships, Danielson wasn’t even supposed to compete. During his 2016 season opener at the Willie Williams Classic, he tore his labrum in his shoulder, and still won the meet with a personal record of 251 feet, 9 inches.

The injury occurred to his throwing arm and forced him to sit out for the majority of the season.

But he still wanted to participate in the conference championships, and head coach Robert Johnson reluctantly acquiesced on the condition that Danielson only throw a few times and then stop.

“He was supposed to throw just a few times and then move on,” Johnson said with a sigh. “But once you get there, and you get in and your competitive juices get flowing, then he was like, ‘Okay, let me get one more.’ ‘No, no, no let me get one more.’ And then next thing you know, he threw six throws and won the meet.”

His winning throw of 238 feet, five inches was a Husky Track record and gave the men’s team a surprise 10 points as it won the meet for the 10th year in a row. No other Pac-12 team has ever been as dominant.

The men’s team won once again this year, though Danielson did not.

After Washington senior Carson Fuller hit 244 feet on his third attempt, Danielson simply couldn’t catch up. Even though he finished as the runner-up, Danielson claimed a personal victory: a friendly competition with his brother, Trevor.

“I can’t wait to beat him,” said Cody before the meet. “I hope he throws far, but I hope I throw further.”

Oregon’s Cody Danielson aims his javelin. The University of Oregon hosts the PAC-12 Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday, May 13, 2017. (Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

Trevor Danielson, a Stanford sophomore, was trailing in sixth place before his final attempt of 223 feet, 9 inches propelled him to third. But it wasn’t enough to catch his older brother, despite the trash talk leading up to the competition.

“[There was] a little bit of trash talking, a little bit of texting back and forth,” Trevor Danielson said with a laugh.

The two had made a bet that the winner of their competition would be allowed to choose the guest room in their parents’ new house. Even though Oregon’s Danielson was the victor, Trevor Danielson was happy just to compete.

“That was the first time that I got to throw at the same flight as him since high school,” he said.

The Pac-12 Championships was just the beginning of the championship season for the two brothers. They met again at the NCAA West Regionals, where the top 48 athletes in each event faced off before the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Only the top 12 qualified for the final meet.

Trevor Danielson placed 25th and didn’t make regionals, but Danielson narrowly qualified after placing 11th with a best attempt of 219 feet, 8 inches. It wasn’t a good meet for Danielson, but he had been sitting just outside a qualifying spot in 15th place before his third and final throw.

Despite his injury, Danielson made the NCAA finals, where he took seventh last year. He will have to throw better for finals, but despite the early-season setback, his confidence is growing just in time for the championships.

“I had that throw that kind of boosted my confidence, so I’m pretty excited to get back out there,” he said.

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Oregon, once known as a school for long distance runners, has transformed itself into a sprint destination.

The women’s track and field team won the Pac-12 Championships on Sunday at Hayward Field with 189 points, almost half of which came from sprinting events.

The women sprinters amassed 83 points with wins in the 4×100, 100 and 200 meters, coupled with strong showings in the longer sprints, the 400-meter and 4×400 relay counterpart.

In the 400-meter, Elexis Guster finished as the runner-up in 51.32 seconds, while Makenzie Dunmore and Hannah Waller took fourth and fifth, respectively. Waller also participated in the relay, alongside Ashante Horsley, Brooke Feldmeier and Raveyn Rogers, who had claimed the 800-meter title for the third year in a row earlier in the day. The team finished as the runner-up with a time of 3 minutes, 32.20 seconds.

“We have a lot of fast sprinters,” said Deajah Stevens. “I think Oregon is just a running school.”

Stevens took home both the 100 and 200 titles, marking the second year in a row that an Oregon sprinter took home both the titles. Last year, it was Hannah Cunliffe.

When asked if she knew it was her moment to shine after watching Cunliffe accomplish what she did the year prior, Stevens replied, “I did. I always want it to be my moment.”

Oregon sprinters Hannah Cunliffe and Deajah Stevens lead the field down the final stretch during the 100m final. The University of Oregon hosts the PAC 12 Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday May 14, 2017. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

The women sprinters demonstrated their depth in the 4×100 relay, where the quartet of Stevens, Makenzie Dunmore, Ariana Washington and Alaysha Johnson began the day. After taking the top time on Saturday, despite some unclean hand-offs, the Ducks took the title on Sunday, effortlessly winning the event in 42.81 seconds.

“I feel like it’s not crazy because we’re Oregon, and our motto is ‘Tougher Together,’” said Dunmore.

Oregon is so dominant in the sprints that Cunliffe, one of the Ducks’ best 100-meter runners, didn’t even participate in the relay. Previously in the outdoor season, she, along with Dunmore, Stevens and Washington, claimed the NCAA record in the event, but after sitting out with the flu since the Penn Relays, Cunliffe was replaced by Johnson.

Eventually Cunliffe will draw back into the relay, and she has high hopes for their potential time.

“I think, for sure, we’ll go 41 [seconds],” Cunliffe said. “I wanted to run today, but I think it would be best if I stayed out for a bit.”

Cunliffe ran her first 100-meter of the outdoor season on Saturday during the first day of competition. Even without racing for a while, Cunliffe won her heat with the third-best time overall, behind teammates Stevens and Washington.

“Running in practice and running in a meet is a little different,” said Cunliffe. “I think I’m ready for Regionals.”

Oregon got its Ducks in a row during the final of the 100, as the three repeated their finishing order for the sweep. Stevens won in 11.05 seconds, while Washington and Cunliffe filed in behind her in 11.10 and 11.11, respectively.

“When you work hard, and you see people working hard, and they come out and show what they’ve been doing, it’s inspiring,” Stevens said.

A couple hours later, Stevens took home the 200-meter crown after crossing the line in a world-leading time of 22.09 seconds. The time was both a personal record and a meet record, replacing the previous one of 22.49 seconds previously set by Cunliffe when she won in 2016.

“When I looked up at the time, I was really excited because it didn’t feel that fast,” said Stevens. “It gives me really high hopes for trying out for Worlds.”

After running such a speedy time, Stevens has been thinking about the long-standing collegiate record of 22.04 seconds, originally set back in 1989. Only .05 seconds away, the record is certainly possible for any of Oregon’s sprinters.

Cunliffe had finished in third with a time of 22.60 seconds after also not racing the 200 all season. Perhaps if Washington hadn’t scratched, the Ducks would have swept both the 100 and 200, just as they did the year prior.

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Throwers and jumpers stole the show on Saturday as the Oregon track and field team kicked off the Pac-12 Championships at Hayward Field.

The Oregon men’s team finished the first day of competition in first place with 69 points, while the women’s team sat tied for fifth with 24 points.

Oregon senior Cody Danielson started the meet off for the Ducks in the javelin. He finished as the runner-up after hitting a season-best of 238 feet, 11 inches. Despite his finish, the 2016 Pac-12 Champion was not satisfied with the result.

“I wish I would have gotten first,” he said. “I’m a little disappointed, but I tried my best.”

He was the most successful Oregon thrower of the day. In the hammer, freshman Max Lydum placed eighth to score for the Ducks after throwing 189 feet, 8 inches. Ryan Hunter-Simms also scored for Oregon in the shot put. He placed sixth with a distance of 59-08 1/2, a season-best.

“[I’m] Happy with the distance,” Hunter-Simms said. “The next goal is to try to make nationals.”

As for the women throwers, only one managed to earn points for the Ducks. Annie Whitfield placed seventh in the javelin after throwing 147 feet.

Oregon thrower Cody Danielson releases the javelin during the third round of throws. The University of Oregon hosts the PAC 12 Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday, May 13, 2017. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

Some Oregon jumpers were also in action. In the women’s long jump, both Rhesa Foster and Chaquinn Cook scored points for the Ducks. Foster won the event after jumping a personal best of 20 feet, 6 1/2 inches on her second attempt. Cook placed fourth, jumping 19 feet, 3 1/4 inches.

After racing in the qualifying round for the men’s 4×100-meter relay and the 100-meter dash, and qualifying for Sunday’s final in both, Damarcus Simpson participated in the long jump. He won the event, giving the Ducks their first win of the day, after jumping 26 feet, 1 inch. In an effort to give Oregon more points, decathlete Mitch Modin, coming off a Pac-12 win in the event last weekend, also entered in the event and finished eighth.

In the pole vault, Cole Walsh finished as the runner-up. Even though he and the eventual winner, Matthew Eckles of Arizona State, cleared the same height of 16-7 1/2 inches, Eckles had only taken one attempt while Walsh took two. Walsh had the opportunity to win the event after Eckles decided to pass on the next height, but he missed it on all three attempts.

“I was trying to work through some issues with my calves. I couldn’t quite get them loose enough to have a powerful run,” Walsh said.

Two running events held their finals on Saturday, though the majority will be on Sunday. The men’s and women’s steeplechase went first. Freshman Jackson Mestler finished in seventh, crossing the line in 9 minutes, 4.47 seconds, while Frida Berge finished fourth in 10 minutes, 18.46 seconds.

The 10,000-meter came next. The men’s event featured Edward Cheserek who won the race in a time of  29 minutes, 11.76 seconds. Tanner Anderson placed third, crossing the line in 29:21.43.

In the women’s event, Maggie Schmaedick placed seventh in 33 minutes, 56.31 seconds.

The action will continue on Sunday at Hayward Field, beginning 12:45 p.m. with the men’s discus.

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Oregon softball began its final regular season series at Stanford with a 9-2 victory over the Cardinal on Thursday night in Palo Alto, California. After losing three out of four games in April, Oregon has now won eight straight.

The Ducks’ bats came alive in the sixth inning as they put together a five-run inning after they entered the inning behind 2-1. Danica Mercado started off the strong hitting with a double. Soon after, Alexis Mack singled Mercado to third. Mercado scored on an error which also put runners on second and third

Shannon Rhodes then put Oregon on top with a double to left field which scored two runs and gave Oregon a 4-2 lead. Oregon scored two more runs after a Stanford pitching change and ended the inning leading 6-2.

Rhodes finished the day with one hit and a game-high three RBIs. Mia Camuso also contributed two hits and drove in two runs

Oregon scored the first run of the game in the third inning when Jenna Lilley stole home. But Stanford answered with two runs of its own in the fourth inning to jump ahead.

After the fourth, though, the Ducks took over. Megan Kleist and Oregon’s defense stifled Stanford for the remainder of the game, allowing zero hits or runs. Kleist finished the game with seven strikeouts and only allowed five hits

The Ducks plated three more runs in the seventh inning to take a 9-2 lead and put the game out of reach.

Oregon will play its second game against Stanford on Friday.

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On Senior Day at Jane Saunders Stadium, it was only fitting that an Oregon senior would play the hero.

Senior Daniela Mercado scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Oregon a 2-1 win and a series sweep over No. 2 Florida State on Sunday.

“This is where all that preparation against Arizona, Washington, UCLA came in,” Catcher Gwen Svekis said. “All those tight one-run games, the extra innings. We finally pushed it through.”

Oregon’s defense shined on Sunday as only one of Florida State’s eight hits resulted in a run.

“One run on eight hits is a testament to our defense,” Svekis said.

Florida State struck first in the top of the second when an Anna Shellnut double was bobbled by Shannon Rhodes, which allowed Carsyn Gordon to score.

Neither team managed a run for the next three innings. Florida State starter Jessica Burroughs held Oregon hitless until the fifth inning when Rhodes singled to left field. She promptly stole second and scored on a single from pitcher Miranda Elish.

That was the only run Burroughs gave up until the ninth. On the day, Burroughs allowed four hits, no walks and struck out eight.

Megan Kleist replaced Elish on the mound in the seventh, with the score tied at one apiece. Elish allowed six hits, one walk and while striking out six.

“Miranda Elish keeps getting stronger and stronger,” Coach Mike White said. “I just felt like they were getting on to her. It was going to be the third or fourth time through the lineup, and I wanted to make a change.”

Kleist, however, immediately allowed runners to reach second and third without retiring a batter.

She was substituted for Maggie Balint who managed to work Oregon out of the jam. She struck out Alex Powers, managed to get Ellie Cooper out breaking for home on a suicide squeeze and got Gordon on a flyout to center.

“I really like going in with runners because I feel like I have the team on my back,” Balint said. “That is what I pitch for. That’s better than starting for me.”

Balint earned the win as she struck out four strikeouts without allowing a single hit in her two innings of relief work.

Mercado led the ninth off with a double to left-center and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Svekis then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Mercado for the winning run.

“[Burroughs] was beating me up with that curveball all day,” Svekis said. “I was telling myself I was hitting something to the right side. I ended up going to center so not the right side. But you know what, it’s better than a pop-up to third.”

“She did exactly what we need her to do,” White said of Svekis’ sacrifice fly. “She let the ball come to her, didn’t do too much.”

The Ducks travel to Stanford for their last series of the regular season which starts Thursday.

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The Pac-12 Track and Field Championships kicked off on Saturday and Sunday with the combined events competition. In a field of eight decathletes, Mitch Modin and Joe Delgado finished first and second, giving Oregon’s men their first 18 points before the rest of the athletes compete at Hayward Field this coming weekend.

Modin won his first Pac-12 title with 7,530 total points, becoming the 18th Duck to win the decathlon, while Delgado finished with 7,432 points.

The two replicated their 1-2 overall finish in two events: the discus and the javelin. In the discus, Modin threw 124 feet, 7.50 inches, while Delgado threw 122-3.5. As for the javelin, both athletes hit personal records, Modin’s of 197 feet and Delgado’s of 181-6.25.

Modin sat in second place with 3,986 points, while Delgado was in fifth with 3,702 points after the field events concluded on Saturday. Modin had earned second place finishes in the long jump and the high jump, jumping 23-0.75 and 6-4.25, respectively. Delgado also won the shot put with a distance of 42 feet, 8.75 inches.

On Sunday, Modin surged into first place when tied for first in the pole vault, clearing 15 feet, 5 inches. After his win in the javelin, he took a commanding lead with just one event to go. In the 1,500-meter, Delgado won with a personal best of 4 minutes, 14.75 seconds to earn his second-place finish.

The rest of the track and field team will finish the Pac-12 Championships this weekend as the men’s team attempts to take the title for the 11th year in a row.

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Along with members of the current Oregon track and field team, many alumni made a return to Hayward Field on Friday during the Oregon Twilight. The most notable star was Devon Allen, who was racing in his first meet since injuring his ACL for the second time.

It was only six weeks ago that Allen began hurdling again. Even though he says he never gets nervous before races, he was before this one after being out of action for so long.

The rust was evident. In the 110-meter hurdles, he finished as the runner-up to training partner Jonathan Cabral, who crossed the finish line in 13.59 seconds, slow by his standards.

Neck and neck after the final hurdle, Cabral finished just .04 seconds before Allen.

Former Oregon hurdler Devon Allen gets of a hurdle during his first race back after tearing his ACL. The Oregon Ducks host the Oregon Twilight Invitational meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on May 5, 2017. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

“It’s literally like every practice,” Allen said. “He’s been getting me lately.”

Although he was completely healthy at the time, and on the biggest stage of his life, Allen’s personal record is 13.03, which he ran at the Olympic trials. Yet despite that, Allen is proud of his finish at the Oregon Twilight.

“I’m really happy about my time,” he said. “13.59 is my second fastest opener ever.”

Allen will be back at Hayward for the Prefontaine Classic, but before that, he will be running in a couple meets to improve his time and work his way back from his injury.

“I’m ready to run, and I’m excited for the season,” he said. “As the season progresses, I’ll feel better and better.”

Another former Duck, Jenna Prandini, will also make another appearance at Hayward when she participates in the Pre Classic.

“I love running here. It’s my favorite place to compete in the world,” she said. “Every time I step on the track, you can always feel that Hayward magic.”

That Hayward magic was clearly working for her on Friday. She won the 100-meter in 11.29 seconds, crushing the meet record at the Oregon Twilight. Previously set in 2009, the former 11.75-second record was demolished by both Prandini and the runner-up Ashton Purvis, who finished in 11.62.

Despite that, Prandini says that she wasn’t worried about her time. Lately, she has been working on improving her start, something that she will continue to do in preparation for Pre.

“I’m really not worried about what I’m running time-wise right now,” she said. “If I get my start down and get that under control, I’m never worried about the end of my race.”

Another former Duck, Mandy White, was in the race. She finished in fourth as the last runner to reach sub-11 minutes.

As Eugene residents, competing at Oregon Twilight was a no-brainer for both Prandini and Andrew Wheating, who raced in the 800-meter for the first time in two years.

“I decided to go back to what I was good at, and what I was good at was the two lap race,” Wheating said. “The 1,500 was kind of the bonus.”

After running behind the pacer for the majority of the race, Wheating finished as the runner-up to Jesse Garn, who out-kicked him on the final straightaway. Wheating finished only .06 seconds after Garn in one minutes and 49 seconds.

“It is windy out there,” he said. “When the pacer stepped off, and I hit the back stretch it was like,” he makes a noise resembling a car screeching to a halt.

“I was like okay that’s some wind, and I’m gigantic,” said the 6-foot-6 athlete. After being pushed back by the wind, Wheating decided to jog a little and was then caught by Garn.

Wheating may also return to Hayward for the Prefontaine Classic, which takes place May 26-27.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

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