EUGENE, Ore. – After five scoreless innings, one unearned run in the sixth had No. 25 BYU softball falling 1-0 at No. 1/3 Oregon on Thursday.
“It was a hard-fought game in a great atmosphere," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "McKenna Bull pitched an incredible game and Oregon made some key defensive plays to shut down some of our potential rallies. As coaches we are proud of our team for their effort and fight.”
Despite out-hitting the home team 5-3, BYU drops to 21-10 on the year as Oregon remains a perfect 30-0 (5-0 Pac-12). The Cougars had two errors in the loss, one of which was the winning run for the Ducks.
McKenna Bull pitched the whole game, throwing eight strikeouts and giving up just three hits and no walks. At the plate, Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge went 2 for 2 and Rylee Jensen went 2 for 3.
Both teams’ defenses played tough in the matchup. The Cougars got runners in scoring position in the first two innings, but were unable to bring them home. In the top of the first, Jensen got to third and attempted to steal home, but got caught. For the home team, the Ducks went three up, three down in three innings, never bringing more than four batters to the plate.
The first hit for Oregon did not come until the bottom of the fourth on a double. The runner advanced to third, but Bull’s fifth strikeout of the game retired the side, keeping the game at a 0-0 tie.
The Ducks scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and second, a single brought in an unearned run to make it 1-0. Facing a full count and runners on second and third, Bull got her eighth strikeout to escape with just a one-run deficit heading into the final inning.
BYU was retired in order in the final inning, taking the 1-0 loss to Oregon.
On Friday, BYU is playing at Oregon State at 1 p.m. PDT. Live stats will be available on the BYU schedule page.