No. 12 Stanford Secures Split With No. 18 Oregon; Defeats Ducks 5-1 In Second Game Of Doubleheader :: The Ducks finish the regular season no worse than tied for third in the conference.

The Ducks finish the regular season no worse than tied for third in the conference.

May 10, 2003

EUGENE - No. 12 Stanford secured a split versus No. 18 Oregon, defeating the Ducks 5-1 in front of a season-high 704 fans in the second game of a doubleheader at Howe Field Saturday. Oregon won the first game 7-0. It was the regular season finale for both teams, which will learn their postseason destinations Sunday evening at 7 p.m. on ESPN News. With the win, Stanford improved to 40-24 overall, 7-14 Pacific-10 Conference while the Ducks finish the regular season 32-17, 10-11.

"What a wonderful season," Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "Our senior class has been phenomenal and what a way to send them out at home. We got a split and finished at least in third. I'm so proud of our team."

With California losing its first game versus Oregon State Saturday, the Ducks secured no worse than a tie for third in the conference. It is Oregon's highest finish in the conference since finishing third in the six-team league in 1990. The Ducks, who were a unanimous last place pick this season, have never finished better than fourth since the Pac-10 expanded to eight teams in 1995. Top-ranked Arizona secured the conference championship with a 7-5 win over No. 2 UCLA Friday. The Bruins finished second in the conference.

The Ducks came out scoring early, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI by senior Alyssa Laux that scored senior Amber Hutchison.

Stanford finally scored its first runs of the day in the second inning, capitalizing on a Duck error for its first run and taking a 2-1 lead on an RBI single Heather Shook that scored Laura Severson. The Cardinal extended its lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Elizabeth Bendig that scored Jessica Allister, giving Stanford a 3-1 lead.

Stanford second baseman Kira Ching drove in two more runs with a double down the right side in the seventh inning to give the Cardinal a secure 5-1 lead.

The Ducks will be at the Pittman Room in the Len Casanova Athletic Center Sunday evening to learn where they will be traveling for the NCAA Regionals. Fans are encouraged to join the Ducks. ESPN News will announce the teams beginning at 7 p.m.

Stanford 021 000 2 - 5 8 0
Oregon 100 000 0 - 1 3 4
Win: Sorensen (20-10); Loss: Meashintubby (6-4)
2B: Bergstrom (7)