After their redeeming win over Portland last weekend, the Ducks ended the regular season with a disappointing performance at the Pac-12 North Invitational

Oregon (2-8, 0-2) lost all four of its matches this weekend, by the score of 0-5 in each, against No. 14 Stanford, No. 13 California, Washington and No. 4 USC at the Invitational in Seattle.

The Ducks began the weekend dropping four straight sets to the Cardinal (16-10, 7-3) on Saturday morning. Lindsey Vander Weide and August Raskie pushed their match on court No. 1 to Oregon’s only extra set of the weekend, after earning Oregon’s only win of the weekend, 21-16 in set two.

The Ducks faced their biggest scoring deficit of the weekend in court No. 3 with Lauren Page and Willow Johnson losing a second set, 21-4, to the Cardinal’s Kate Formico and Catherine Raquel.

Following the Stanford match, Oregon fell 0-5 to the Golden Bears (19-6, 3-4). In their second match of the day, Page and Johnson only fell by two points in their opening set against the Cal pairing of Bryce Bark and Madison Dueck, 22-20, but also dropped the second set as well, 21-14.

On Sunday morning the Washington Huskies (10-11, 2-4) defeated the Ducks in five straight sets. The Ducks got as close as five to the Huskies with Maggie Scott and Ronika Stone’s opening set loss of 16-21 in court No. 4 to UW’s duo of Anna Crabtree and Kara Bajema.

To conclude the Invitational, the Ducks lost 0-5 to the Trojans (20-10). In court No. 3, Page and Johnson came back from a 7-21 lost in set one, to lose set two only by three, 18-21, against USC’s Terese Cannon and Sammy Slater.

The Ducks will look to turnaround their momentum when they return to the sand at the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford, California, April 26 through 28.

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After four scoreless innings in Friday’s match-up against Arizona State University, Oregon’s DJ Sanders was stuck on second base in the top of the fifth.

With an Alexis Mack bunt, Sanders scored Oregon’s first run of the game.

No. 3 Oregon (33-6, 8-2) built off the momentum of Mack’s double in the remaining two innings, beating No. 7 Arizona State 5-0 in Tempe, Arizona. The victory marks the Ducks’ 10th straight win against the Sun Devils (33-6, 7-3).

When the fifth inning ended, Oregon had a 2-0 lead over Arizona State thanks to a Shannon Rhodes single, which brought Mack home.

Oregon quickly doubled the score.

In the top of the sixth, after Gwen Svekis opened the inning by reaching third on an ASU catching error, Mary Iakopo slammed a two-run home run over the wall of centerfield and got the Ducks a lead of 4-0.

The Ducks’ final run came an inning later, in the top of the seventh on a solo home run over the right-field fence from senior Jenna Lilley.

With only three hits the whole game, the Sun Devils’ pressure on the bases was limited due to Oregon pitcher Megan Kleist. Kleist put away ASU batters in a row for three out of the seven innings, earning the win and improving her season record to 12-4. She struck out 10 batters and didn’t allow a single walk.

“There were some big turning points,” head coach Mike White told goducks.com. “They got runners on the corners. Kleist pitched out of it. She wasn’t at her best in the first two innings but as the game went on she got stronger, and that’s what we’re there to do. She found a way to win tonight and shut out the number seven team in the country.”

Iakopo led the Ducks with two RBIs, ahead of Rhodes’ one. Both Iakopo and Lilley scored the only home runs of the game.

The Ducks and Sun Devils will play game two of their three-game series tomorrow at 6 p.m. back at the Alberta B. Farrington softball stadium in Tempe.

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Oregon (32-6) moved up to No. 3 in the USA Today Top 25 poll, jumping two spots after defeating Portland State in a doubleheader, 11-2, and sweeping a three-game series against No. 9 Arizona last week. 

Washington (39-2) remained at the No. 1 spot while Oklahoma (33-2) is chasing the Huskies at No. 2. UCLA (32-4), fell one spot to No. 4.

Three other Pac-12 teams made an appearance in the poll. Arizona State (33-5) came in at No. 7, Arizona (27-9), after being swept by the Ducks, fell to No. 12, and Cal (26-11) rounded out the poll at No. 25. 

Also announced on Monday, Gwen Svekis and Miranda Elish earned Pac-12 player and pitcher of the week, respectively, after helping Oregon to a perfect 5-0 week. 

Elish threw the first seven-inning perfect game in Oregon history, striking out a career-high 16 batters against the Vikings in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Not only was it the first perfect game of Elish’s collegiate career, but it also the first perfect game pitched at Jane Sanders Stadium.

Over the week, she pitched 14 full innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 31 strikeouts. Elish (13-1) threw a six-inning shutout of the Wildcats on Saturday, allowing only three hits while recording 13 strikeouts. The sophomore owns a 0.78 ERA this season.

Svekis opened the series against the Wildcats with a pair of home runs on Friday, helping Oregon win the first game, 5-2. The senior batted an averaged of .700 with seven RBIs and scoring five runs off of her seven hits over the course of the five games.

She currently leads the Ducks with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs.

The Ducks will travel to Tempe, Arizona this week and play the No. 7 Sun Devils for a three-game series, starting with Friday’s opener at 7 p.m.

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The clock trickled down to zero and the final whistle blew.

Oregon’s sophomore Lexy Biller dropped her stick and turned around. She immediately found goalie Brittany Read and without a second to wait, she jumped into the senior’s arms.

It was a day to celebrate Oregon’s seniors, as four of them earned hat tricks while Read defended 16 of USC’s shots on goal in Oregon’s senior day at its final home game of the season. The Ducks (8-5, 4-3) upset No. 16 USC 18-11 on Sunday afternoon at Pape Field. The victory marked four straight wins for Oregon, and was the Ducks first win over a ranked opponent since 2008.

“I think it was a very emotional day with it being senior day,” head coach Katrina Dowd said. “If you look at our scoring our seniors really put the ball in the back of the net today, and I just think our team plays for them. They’re our heart and soul, and I couldn’t be prouder. I couldn’t plan it or write it up any more special for them.”

In their last game at Pape Field, the Oregon seniors scored 15 of the team’s 18 goals. Jojo Hesketh was one of three seniors to score three goals in the first half. She led each team with five goals at the final whistle.

“I got my family and I’m going to do whatever I can to score,” Hesketh said.

In a rainy first half, USC (7-7, 5-4) claimed an early 1-0 lead. Duck senior Jill Zubillaga scored the tying goal less than a minute afterward. Ten minutes prior she had stood in front of the 217-person crowd and began the senior day festivities by singing the national anthem.

“It was awesome,” Zubillaga said. “It was something that I have been asked to do for a while. My teammates were super supportive, so it was a great experience.”

The Ducks scored nine consecutive goals after Zubillaga’s — two more than the amount they scored in their loss against the Trojans back in March. USC could not keep up with Oregon’s momentum, and became loosely aggressive, racking up 15 fouls within the first 15 minutes.

In fact, the Trojans didn’t find another goal until the last two and a half minutes of the half, when they scored two to end the half down by seven.

“They’re always dangerous, and they recruit extremely well,” Dowd said. “So, to be able to get a win against them is huge.”

The second half started with blue skies, as the Trojans took advantage of the weather’s familiarity, and scored six-straight goals. But it would never be enough for the comeback they were looking for, as the Ducks’ lead never dropped below five.

Behind Hesketh’s five goals, Mariah Gatti scored four, and Zubillaga and Natalie Modly each scored three as well for the Ducks.

After the game, the rest of the Oregon team rushed from the sideline, to join Biller and Read in celebrating. The crowd jumped to its feet in a standing ovation and erupted in cheers.

Oregon will travel to Berkeley, Calif. next week to play the California Bears on Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m.

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On March 24, the Oregon Ducks dropped their 2018 season opener against the Portland Pilots.

Two weeks later Oregon got its vengeance.

The Ducks (2-4) defeated the Pilots 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in their regular season finale at the Chemeketa Community College.

The match began with a 2-0 lead from Oregon behind wins on courts No. 4 and No. 5. The Ducks earned their match win in court No. 2 against Portland (2-6).

In court No. 4, Oregon’s Maggie Scott and Ronika Stone extended their program record for most wins by earning their eighth career victory as a pair. Scott and Stone bounced back after dropping the first set against Portland’s Kassidy Naone and Lauren Naatz to win the second and third sets, (17-21), (21-13) (15-13).

Oregon senior Marine Hall-Poirier and freshman Kyra Hanawahine also added to Oregon’s early lead with a two-set win in court No. 5 over Portland’s Liz Reich and McKenzie Schwan, 21-15, 21-15.

After Portland won on court No. 3, the Ducks’ clenched their final win in court No. 2 to win the match. Oregon senior Taylor Agost and freshman Josie Cole clenched the win in a third set over the Pilots pairing of Morgan Robinson and Katie Barker, 21-19, 18-21, 15-12.

Oregon travels to Seattle for the Pac-12 North Invitational next weekend to face Stanford, California, Washington and USC before the Pac-12 Championships later this month.

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It was a 1-1 game in the sixth inning, and Oregon had runners on first and second base, with no outs when senior Gwen Svekis stepped up to bat.

Svekis kept the crowd on its feet through eight pitches, before sending a three-run home run over the left field fence for her second home run of the day. Shannon Rhodes followed with her own solo home run to give the Ducks a four-run lead over the Arizona Wildcats with no outs and another full inning to play.

With Svekis and Rhodes’ power at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, the No. 5 Oregon Ducks (30-5, 5-2) defeated No. 9 Arizona 5-2 on Friday at Jane Sanders Stadium.

“I was pretty disappointed we only had one run through six,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “But [Taylor] McQuillin is that kind of pitcher. I thought we were having some pretty good at-bats and that sixth inning was tremendous … We really made her (McQuillin) work.”

Four innings prior to the back-to-back home runs, Svekis scored Oregon’s first run on another home run to open the bottom of the second inning against McQuillin (18-5).

“No secret, just extra confidence in myself right now,” Svekis said. “I like hitting lefties in general, and we did a lot of work preparing for her [McQuillin] … I was just ready for her.”

Over the course of the game, Svekis tallied four RBIs and a walk. She now leads the team with 11 home runs this season, tied with shortstop DJ Sanders.

“She feels good about what she’s doing,” White said of Svekis. “She’s seeing the ball pretty well, she’s carrying us just a little bit and that is just what we need.”

Trailing 1-0 after Svekis’ first home run, Arizona (27-7, 6-4) didn’t tie the game until the top of the sixth.

With runners on third and second, Aleah Craighton grounded out to Sanders, her former Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajun teammate from last season, which brought Jessie Harper home to score.

The Wildcats didn’t score again until the top of the seventh, with an RBI from Harper getting Reyna Carranco home.

In the circle, Oregon pitcher Megan Kleist (11-4) pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits and two runs and striking out seven. Over her past 41.1 innings, Kleist has only allowed one walk on top of recording 45 strikeouts.

In the top of the fifth, she protected Oregon’s 1-0 lead by striking out Reyna Carranco with runners on the corners.

“I don’t think we helped her out too much in that sixth inning,” White said. “We didn’t make some of the plays we should have made, so she had to throw a lot more pitches … But I thought she gutted it out. She really wanted to stay out there, wanted the ball and wanted to finish it. And it was her game to finish.”

The Ducks and the Wildcats will return to the Jane tomorrow at 12 p.m. for game two of the weekend’s three-game series.

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Four innings had gone by and the Ducks remained scoreless against the Beavers’ 3-0 lead. But, a home run and a pair of doubles in the fifth finally got the Ducks on the scoreboard.

At the top of the seventh inning, Oregon had tied the game. The Ducks needed a no-run inning from Oregon State to push the game into extra innings.

But that second chance never came.

A walk-off single gave the Beavers the 4-3 win over the Ducks (26-6, Pac-12 3-2), Friday afternoon at the Oregon State Softball Complex in Corvallis.

Oregon’s loss evened the Civil War Series, capping the team’s 16-game and six-year winning streak against the Beavers (20-14, 3-5) and gave Oregon pitcher Miranda Elish the first loss of her collegiate career.

The Ducks tied the Beavers in the top of the seventh with a home run from Gwen Svekis. The home run placed Svekis first on the team with nine home runs this season.

Mary Iakopo’s home run sparked the Ducks’ momentum in the top of the fifth. The ball cleared left field before hitting the scoreboard and bouncing behind the fence, giving Oregon its first run.

Doubles from Haley Cruse and Mia Camuso got Oregon another run in the inning, and put the team under one behind Oregon State’s 3-2 lead.

Oregon State earned its first three runs all in the bottom of the fourth on four hits and an Oregon error.

Elish received the loss (11-1) after pitching all but one inning when head coach Mike White traded her out for Maggie Balint in the fourth. Elish allowed three runs on six hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.

The Civil War series will come down to Saturday’s finale, scheduled for 3 p.m. back at the Oregon State Softball Complex in Corvallis.

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CORVALLIS, Ore.— On her second pitch, Oregon’s Haley Cruse opened the fifth inning with a big hit toward centerfield. It was her second double of the day against the Beavers, as she made her way to second base.

After back-to-back outs from Jenna Lilley and Alexis Mack, it seemed as if Oregon was about to leave Cruse stranded. But thanks to a Shannon Rhodes two-run home run to left centerfield, Cruse cruised her way home along with Rhodes.

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks (26-4, Pac-12 3-1) took the lead of the Civil War series with their 16^th consecutive win over the Oregon State Beavers (19-4, 2-5) with a final score of 4-1 Thursday at the Oregon State Softball Complex. The Ducks now lead the series 92-91-1 all-time over their State rivals.

“I’ve been here long enough now, I know a little bit about the rivalry between the Civil War,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “It’s fun to have another good game against them. They are a good team and you can see it, they’re getting better each year.”

Oregon clinched the win by earning two runs in the third and fifth innings.

To begin the third inning, senior Lauren Lindvall hit a solo home run to right centerfield, scoring the first run of the game for the Ducks. Cruse immediately followed Lindvall with a big hit in centerfield off her first pitch. The ball hit the base of the outfield wall, allowing Cruse to make her way to second base.

Lilley found a spot on first base after four balls from OSU pitcher Meehra Nelson. Mack loaded the bases with a bunt and set the stage for Rhodes.

Rhodes hit a fly-out sacrifice hit out to right-center, allowing Cruse to score for a 2-0 Oregon lead.

“My first at-bat was pretty pitiful in my eyes,” Rhodes said. “[I] watched two inside pitches and I was hunting that pitch and just didn’t pull the trigger. So, I figured if she beat me twice on that pitch, she was going go there again, and I was ready for it.”

The Beavers’ lone run came in the bottom of the fifth when freshman Camryn Ybarra hit a home run to right-field. The ball flew over the wall, barely clearing the top of Cruse’s glove. The home run was Ybarra’s second of the season and one of only three hits Oregon’s pitcher Megan Kleist let through.

“Megan Kleist was just very, very good,” White said. “I have to go and see the tape, but I thought she moved the strikezone very well … I was pretty comfortable with the way Megan was pitching, she did a phenomenal job with moving the ball around the zone, made one mistake but that happens.”

Kleist (9-4) earned the win with 65 strikes in her 90 pitches. Her 13 strikeouts marked her sixth game this season with double-digit strikeouts.

“Finding the strikezone is the most important thing, that makes me feel comfortable,” Kleist said. “But once I got that first strike, I kinda knew where the Umpire was gonna call, so I kinda just worked that zone and it turned out in my favor.”

Oregon will continue with the Civil War series with game two of three scheueduled for Friday at 4 p.m. back at the OSU Softball Complex.

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Oregon junior August Raskie was selected to the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team Europe Tour (CNT-Europe) 12-player roster as one of two setters, USA Volleyball announced on Thursday.

Raskie will join the team in Venice, Italy, on July 5 to train and practice before competing in the Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia, July 10-13.

In the fall, Raskie appeared in all 30 matches and 112 sets for Oregon, with five starts. She finished second on the team with 5.06 assists per game and third with six double-doubles. Over the season she averaged 1.74 digs per set and totaled 13 services aces. In Oregon’s five-set win against Oregon State, she made a season-high 29 assists after setting a career-high 16 digs against Washington earlier in the season.

Tryouts for the CNT-Europe team were held March 2-4 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Raskie tried out with Oregon teammate Taylor Agost.

The Pac-12 will represent half of the selected athletes on the roster. Among Raskie, Berkeley Oblad (University of Utah) will play as a middle, MacKenzie May (UCLA) as an outside hitter, Audriana Fitzmorris (Stanford) and Taylor Mims (Washington State University) will be the two opposites and Alexis Dirige (Washington State University) will be the team’s libero.

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The Oregon beach volleyball team concluded their California spring break trip falling 0-5 to both No. 5 Long Beach State and No. 19 Saint Mary’s in Wednesday’s doubleheader at the LBSU Sand Courts.

The Ducks(1-4) began the day dropping every set in their match against Long Beach State. Long Beach State (15-1) won every set, sweeping the match 3-0 early on to increase their winning streak to 12 matches.

Oregon’s closest match came in court No. 3, where Willow Johnson and Lauren Page got as close as five under the Long Beach State pair of Kristyna Adamcikova and Hailey Harward in set one, 21-16, but Adamcikova and Harward took the second set’s victory as well, 21-13.

In court No. 2, Oregon duo Taylor Agost and Josie Cole were defeated 21-13, 21-9 by Sasha Karelov and Megan Kruidhof. In the quick match win for Long Beach State, Karelov was responsible for 17 kills and Kruidhof for five aces.

To secure the 5-0 victory, Long Beach State duo Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto defeated Oregon’s August Raskie and Lindsey Vander Weide in the No. 1 court, 21-17, 21-12.

Next on the sand, Oregon fell to Saint Mary’s also in 0-5, to cap a four-match winning streak for Gaels (10-3).

After coming from a 21-13 loss in set one, Raskie and Vander Weide came back to win the second set, 18-21, and push their match into a third set, Oregon’s only extra set of the day. The duo ultimately lost the third set, 15-12, to the Gaels.

Marine Hall-Poirier and Kyra Hanawahine got close to a third set in court No.5, losing only by two in their second set of 24-22. But with Saint Mary’s, 21-7, victory in set one, the match win went to the Gaels.

Oregon will return home and play the Portland Pilots for the second time this season at the Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, April 7 at 1 p.m.

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