Ducks Win Fifth Straight

Sari-Jane Jenkins, Jennifer Salling and Neena Bryant each had two hits for the Ducks.

Melissa Rice Photo: goducks.com

LAS VEGAS - Oregon senior Kristi Leiter drove in four runs and scored once while junior Melissa Rice came within two outs of pitching a perfect game to lead the Ducks’ softball team to a 8-0 win over UC Davis in their opening game of the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic Friday at SLC Park.

Oregon accounted for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, two in the third and three more in the fourth as the game was shortened to four and a half innings due to the eight-run rule.

Rice failed to record any strike outs but coaxed 11 ground ball from the 17 batter she faced to record her third win of the season in as many decisions as Oregon improved its record to 5-1.

UC Davis dropped to 0-1.

Leiter, Sari-Jane Jenkins, Jennifer Salling and Neena Bryant each had two hits, with Leiter’s two-run home run in the third inning providing Rice with all the cushion she needed.

Salling also drove in three runs and scored one while Suzie Barnes scored twice to extend the Ducks’ winning streak to five games.

Rice’s perfect game first came into jeopardy after retiring the first 11 batters before UC Davis’ Deanna Menapace hit a hard shot through the right side of the infield with two outs in the fourth inning for what appeared to be the Aggies’ first hit of the game.

However the Ducks’ Bryant charged the ball from her right- field outpost and came up firing to first base for the third out of the inning.

The Aggies finally broke through with one out in the fifth when Nikki Sheldon came off the bench to coax a walk to spoil the perfect game.

Two batters later, Sarah O’Neill connected on a solid two-out single to left field before Rice forced Julie Stauder to end the game on a soft roller to first base.

Oregon got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first following a leadoff single and a stolen base by Barnes. She advanced to third on a ground out to second base by Jenkins and scored on a base hit from Salling.

Bryant beat out a roller down the first-base line with one out and proceeded to steal second before Lovena Chaput walked.

After Salling was tagged out at home trying to scored on a grounder to the shortstop, Leiter drove in Bryant and Chaput with a single to left.

Oregon will face Seton Hall in the second game Friday night.

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