I couldn’t connect to the blog earlier today for some technical reason I’m not sure about. Here then, 12 hours later, is the recap of Saturday’s game against UCLA.
Oregon managed only three hits while allowing 14 to visiting No. 3 UCLA Saturday at Howe Field, losing 9-2 in a decision Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen called “extremely disappointing.”
The loss is Oregon’s third in a row. The two teams meet again Sunday at Howe Field at noon.
A day after getting two hits against Washington, the Ducks couldn’t find rhythm against the Bruins’ Whitney Baker, who threw 4.1 innings, allowing three hits and two runs with seven strikeouts.
Arendsen was dismayed by her team’s energy level from the start.
“I didn’t think we played with much energy,” she said.
Oregon’s hitting wasn’t a matter of quality but quantity. Two of the Ducks’ hits counted for solo home runs. Center fielder Neena Bryant hit a full-count solo home run in the first inning to put Oregon ahead 1-0. Kaitlin Vitek added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Bruins, meanwhile, turned to Julie Burney for its early offense. The junior third baseman singled in Amanda Kamekona in the top of the second inning to tie the score at 1. In her next at-bat in the top of the fourth inning, Burney drove Melissa Rice’s pitch deep to centerfield for a three-run home run that gave UCLA a 4-1 lead, a lead it would never relinquish.
Bryant said the Ducks’ hitting can turn around by tomorrow.
“I just think we need to be patient, we got really anxious,” she said.
Rice was replaced in the top of the fifth inning by Brittany Rumfelt on the mound after allowing a solo home run to Katie Schroeder, but Rumfelt didn’t find any better luck against the Bruins’ bats, which recorded 14 hits on the afternoon.
Rumfelt allowed four runs in her 2.2 innings of work, which ended in the top of the seventh after allowing a bases-loaded single that scored two UCLA runners. Rice then came back in to pitch.
Vitek, whose substitution quickly led to a home run, was pleased with her performance but couldn’t speak for why the team couldn’t match it.
“One game we can score 12 runs and the next score none,” Vitek said. “We didn’t come out wit hthat today, but it’s unfair to judge why. Personally, it was good to finally show them I can help out.”
