Wildcats take series from Ducks, Oregon OF Hanna Delgado expected to make full recovery

TUCSON, Ari. — The No. 20 Oregon Ducks dropped two out of three games this weekend to the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats, but the results of the series were overshadowed by the severe neck injury that outfielder, Hanna Delgado suffered in game one.

With the Ducks (24-15, 10-7) trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Delgado crashed head-first into the centerfield wall trying to make a catch and immediately went down, allowing Arizona's Taylor Biehl to reach third for a triple.

The game was stopped for several minutes as Delgado was tended to on the field before eventually being taken off on a stretcher. Arizona (28-13-1, 9-9) joined the Ducks in a prayer circle before the game resumed when Delgado was taken to the Banfield University Medical Center.

Before her injury, Delgado had picked up a single and a double in her three at-bats, extending her hitting streak to eight games.

The Wildcats added another run when play resumed, with Biehl scoring from third on a ground out to extend their lead to five runs.

The Ducks attempted to rally for their fallen teammate, as with two outs in the top of the sixth Emma Kauf and Katie Flannery singled before Tehya Bird brought them home on a three-run shot over the left-field fence for her first home run of the season, cutting the Arizona lead to two.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, their efforts wouldn't be enough as Arizona held on for the 7-5 win, tagging Ariel Carlson out at second for the last out of the game.

Ahead of Saturday's game two, the Ducks announced on Twitter that Delgado would remain under observation in Tucson, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Delgado spoke with her teammates on the phone on Saturday morning, and behind the rallying cry, "For Hanna," they were powered to a 5-2 win.

Elise Sokolsky picked up the win, improving her record to 6-1 on the season. She allowed eight hits and a walk in 4.1 innings but was able to mitigate Arizona's scoring opportunities to hold them to just two runs. The Wildcats went just 5-for-21 with runners on base and a measly 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Sokolsky was relieved by Morgan Scott, who picked up her team-leading fourth save of the season, tossing 2.2 shutout innings to close out the game.

Oregon's offense was led by the top of its lineup, as Kai Luschar, Ariel Carlson, and Emma Kauf combined to go 7-for-11 at the plate, scoring and driving in four runs.

The scoring started early for the Ducks, as Luschar and Carlson each singled to begin the game before coming home on Kauf's double to right field. Oregon added one more in the top of the first with Kauf advancing to third on a passed ball and scoring on Vallery Wong's sac fly.

They kept things going in the second, with Tehya Bird singling and Luschar bringing her home on a triple. A single from Carlson then plated Luschar, giving the Ducks a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Wildcats got two back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI triple and a single to bring the runner home from third, but that would be it for their offense, as Sokolsky and Scott shut them down the rest of the way. After the second inning, Arizona put eight runners on base but wasn't able to bring any of them home as the Ducks held on to win 5-2.

After splitting the first two games, Sunday's rubber match between the two ranked teams was set to be a good one, and it didn't disappoint (except for the Ducks) as Arizona won in walk-off style in the eighth inning.

The Ducks again scored early, with Kai Luschar singling to lead off the game before stealing second and coming home when Ariel Carlson pushed one into the right-center gap for a double.

Raegan Breedlove got the start for Oregon but was quickly relieved by Sokolsky after allowing a run on three hits in only 0.2 innings. 

Once Sokolsky entered, she was excellent, allowing only a single run in six innings. She held the Arizona offense to four hits and a walk while striking out six. Sokolsky finished the weekend throwing 10.1 innings of three-run ball, striking out nine batters while only allowing two walks.

Trailing by one heading into the top of the seventh, Paige Sinicki crushed her second home run of the season over the center field fence to tie the game and keep the Ducks alive. 

Morgan Scott replaced Sokolsky after she got two outs in the bottom of the frame, walking the first batter on four pitches before forcing a foul pop-up to send the game to extra innings.

Carlson and Vallery Wong both flew out to start the eighth before KK Humphreys singled through the left side of the infield to give the Ducks a base runner with two outs.

In an attempt to put a runner in scoring position, Humphreys tried to steal second but was gunned down, ending the inning before Oregon could put any runs on the board. Head coach, Melyssa Lombardi challenged the play, but the ruling on the field was upheld.

Sinicki recorded the first out on a grounder to short but made an error on the next play that allowed Olivia DiNardo to reach base safely. DiNardo was pinch run for by Ali Blanchard, who advanced to second when Scott walked the next batter on four pitches. A single then loaded the bases with only one out in the inning.

After a ball and a strike, Jasmine Perezchica grounded a ball to third where Tehya Bird fielded the high chopper and threw home. Unfortunately for the Ducks, her throw was not in time, as the Wildcats walked it off 3-2.

The Ducks return to Eugene next weekend, set for a three-game series with their biggest rival, the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers (17-23, 5-10) have struggled in conference play this season — with their last Pac-12 series win coming a month ago against Arizona State — and are coming off a 2-1 series loss at the hands of No. 7 Stanford.

Next weekend will be the last home series of the year for the Ducks, with senior night set for Sunday's 4 PM contest. After that Oregon will head to Stanford for the final series of the regular season before the Pac-12 tournament begins on May 8th.