March 21, 2004

Eugene, Ore.-In the first game of their Pacific Northwest swing the Tigers opened with a doubleheader against the #16 Oregon Ducks. The Tigers won game one by a score of 8-0 and lost game two in nine innings by a score of 3-4.

"There was some good and some bad," head coach Ty Singleton said. "We came out and played great against their #1 pitcher. It shows the young women how good they are and how much potential they have. We need to continue to make strides towards improving. We had a chance to put the second game away and unfortunately we didn't execute."

The Tigers took the early lead in the top of the second with a two-run home run by Samantha Fleeman, her second of the season. Heather Kunkel also advanced home on Fleeman's hit.

The Tigers made some lineup changes, bringing catcher AJ White into right field and moving righ fielder Morgan LeCluyse into left field. Behind the plate was Kathy Masterson.

Home runs were the order of the day, with AJ White recording her second of the season in the top of the third inning. With White's home run Leanne Bowers and Joanne Loethen also advanced home to make the score 5-0, in the top of the third inning.

The Ducks looked to start a rally in the bottom of the third inning with a double by Barnes, who advanced to third base on a Tiger passed ball., though the rally fell short as Kalka managed to strikeout the next three batters to end the inning.

The Tigers added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning with a two-run home run by Leanne Bowers. Bowers now leads the team with three home runs . With Bowers home run, Joanne Loethen also advanced home, giving the Tigers the 7-0 lead.

The Tigers earned another run in the top of the sixth inning, when Kathy Masterson advanced home on a Duck error, making the final score 8-0. With the win the Tigers improve to 11-15 on the season.

Keeping the pace for the Tigers was pitcher Erin Kalka, who recorded six strikeouts, no runs and one walk. With the win Kalka improves to 6-8 on the season and plays her third complete game of the season.

In game two the Tigers kept the same batting lineup starting sophomore pitcher Samantha Fleeman for Kalka.

The Tigers came out swinging their bats in the second game, recording two hits in the first inning putting two runners on base. The Tigers were unable to score as Duck pitcher Harris was able to strikeout the next batters.

The Ducks took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning on a home run by Richards, her seventh on the season. The Ducks were able to get on base after Boskovich was hit by a pitch.

The Tigers made some lineup changes in the bottom of the first inning, bringing in freshman Erica Petersen to pitch and moving Fleeman into the batting order as the designated player.

The Ducks were threatening to score in the bottom of the second when second baseman Suzie Barnes walked and then advanced to second on a Tiger error and then managed to steal third base. Pitcher Erica Petersen took a defensive stand by striking out the next batter to save the Ducks from another score.

The Tigers were able to put a score on the board in the top of the third when Joanne Loethen scored on a Duck error tying the score at 1-1. The Tigers were able to take the lead in on a score by Leanne Bowers who was driven home on a single by Heather Kunkel.

The Ducks started a rally in the bottom of the fifth with a double by Suzie Barnes who then advanced to third on a Tiger wild pitch. The Tigers made a pitching change in the bottom of the fifth brining in Erin Kalka, who had the win in game one. Oregon was able to tie the game at 2-2 on a score by Barnes. She was driven home on a Jaime double.

The Tigers were able to regain the lead after AJ White scored on a Duck error bring the score to 3-2. The Tigers were able to put two runners on base but Duck pitcher Meshintubby was able to strikeout the next batter.

The Tigers took the 3-2 lead going into the top seventh inning but the Ducks were able to tie it up at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Hudson, which advanced home Boskovich sending the game into extra innings.

In the decisive ninth inning the Ducks were able to pull out the win on a single by Hudson which drove home Boskovich for the game winning run.

With the loss the Tigers fall to 11-16 on the season. The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow when they play a doubleheader against Oregon State University. Game one is scheduled to begin at 3PM (CST).