Daniell Drives Ducks to Victory
EUGENE, Ore. – Alyssa Daniell drove in a career-high five runs in her final regular season home game as No. 24 Oregon pulled away from 2024 Big Sky champion Northern Colorado, 9-2, Sunday in front of 1,651 at Jane Sanders Stadium.
Ariel Carlson, Kai Luschar and Tehya Bird all had two hits and an RBI, while Morgan Scott pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn her fifth save of the season. She struck out three and only gave up one hit.
"It means a lot, I mean anything I can do to help out the team just means a lot," said Daniell of her career day. "We are all working hard. We all deserve it. It also means a lot because it's my last regular season game at home, so doing it in front of the people who love me the most feels good."
How it Happened: Oregon (27-16) scored a run in each of the first three innings.
Luschar used her speed to score the Ducks' first run of the game. She led off the bottom of the first with a double and stole third – her Pac-12-leading 25th stolen base of the season. She then came home on a wild pitch.
In the second inning, KK Humphreys blooped a single into right field and came all the way home on Bird's double to the wall for a 2-0 Oregon lead.
Speed again was a factor in the third inning. Carlson singled and then stole second. She advanced to third on Emma Kauf's ground out to the right side and then scored on Daniell's sacrifice fly.
Amailee Morales led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run for the Bears (24-23) to cut Oregon's lead to 3-1.
Starter Stevie Hansen pitched into the fourth inning before giving way to Raegan Breedlove. Hansen went 3.2 innings, allowing only the home run to Morales, while striking out three. Breedlove got the final out of the fourth inning. She only threw one inning, but it was enough for her to earn her first win of the season.
Breedlove retired the first two batters in the fifth inning before giving up a run on two hits and a walk as Northern Colorado closed to within a run at 3-2. Scott came in with runners on first and second and got out of the jam when Katie Flannery fielded a tricky hopper that was headed up the middle and sprinted to second for the force out.
"As a pitching staff, we know what we need to do," said Scott. "We have each others' backs. If we have to pass the ball, we will pass the ball to get the job done in the moment."
Daniell helped the Ducks put some distance between themselves and the Bears in the bottom of the inning. Paige Sinicki started things off with a hit before Luschar beat out an infield single. Carlson hit a drive off the wall in right field that scored Sinicki for a 4-2 lead.
After Kauf lined out to the shortstop, Daniell hit a three-run home run to the bleachers in center field and the Ducks lead 7-2. It was Daniell's career-high 10th home run of the season.
Oregon tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bird doubled and pinch-runner Regan Legg scored on an error at first that allowed Luschar to reach. Carlson was then safe at first on a fielder's choice before Kedre Luschar was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kai Luschar came home on Daniell's second sacrifice fly of the game.
"I thought (Daniell) did a good job. Five RBIs, that's a lot," said coach Melyssa Lombardi. "She worked really, really hard on her swing before the season and during the season.
"I think she is very aware of her swing and when it feels good, when it doesn't feel good and the quick adjustments that she needs to make," said Lombardi. "She does a good job at making adjustments from bat to bat. I love what she's doing."
Quotable:
First baseman Alyssa Daniell
"My approach today was to just get runners home in any way I can. My teammates were working hard to get on base for me, putting themselves in scoring positions. So, I just go up to bat and do my job so that their hard work pays off as well."
Notable: Scott's save was the 12th of her Oregon career, which puts her in solo second place on the UO career list … Daniell's five RBI give her 38 on the season … Carlson's RBI was the 51st of the season, one shy of the Ducks' single-season top 10 … Luschar matched a career best with three runs scored … Carlson upped her season stolen bases total to 17. She's one of two players in Division I with 14-plus home runs and 17-plus stolen bases ... UO alum Alexa Peterson, who was just named to the Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024 on Friday threw out the first pitch on Sunday.
On Deck: Oregon (12-8 in Pac-12 play) closes out the regular season with a three-game series at No. 7 Stanford that begins Friday at 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network). The Ducks enter the final weekend in fourth place, 2.5 games behind second-place Stanford (15-6) and a half-game behind Washington (13-8).
"I think right now, since we have one series left, I think the postseason mentality is important for us to go and do what we want to do, which is to win the series," said Lombardi. "We have faced tough pitchers and tough teams all year long, so what I want to see as we move forward is the experience. Everything we have gotten from this year to make us who we are to make a run. This is where it is nice to get hot and go for it."
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