by Steve Mims
EUGENE, OREGON
Oregon won back-to-back games against 13th-ranked Arkansas to advance to a NCAA Super Regional in softball.
The Ducks opened the Fayetteville Regional with a 5-4 win over Notre Dame as Tehya Bird homered and drove in three runs.
Oregon rallied from a 3-2 deficit with eight runs in the fifth inning to beat the Razorbacks 10-4. Bird homered again and drove in four runs while Ariel Carlson had three hits and three RBIs.
Needing one win to advance, Oregon took a 5-4 lead over Arkansas in the fourth inning before scoring nine runs in the fifth for a 14-4 win. Carlson had three hits and seven RBIs while Terra McGowan had three hits and scored three times.
The Ducks head to Oklahoma State on Thursday for a best-of-threes series with the winner headed to the College World Series.
BASEBALL
Oregon wrapped up the regular season with back-to-back wins over Utah before opening the Pac-12 Tournament with a win over California.
Turner Spoljaric was named Pac-12 pitcher of the week after allowing one run in seven innings during Oregon’s 9-1 win over the Utes. Bennett Thompson had three hits in the victory.
In the regular season finale, Thompson had four hits to lead the Ducks to a 15-3 victory over Utah. Rikuu Nishida and Sabin Ceballos each had three hits as Oregon finished sixth in the conference at 16-14.
Oregon improved to 34-20 overall with a 3-2 win over Cal in the first round of the conference tournament. Tanner Smith had three hits and scored twice as the Ducks moved on to face Stanford on Thursday.
MEN’S GOLF
Oregon advanced to the NCAA Tournament by finishing third in the NCAA Regional at Bath, Mich. The top five teams advanced to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz. beginning Friday.
Owen Avrit led the Ducks at 14-under par to tie for fifth place while Greg Solhaug was 11th at 4-under par.
Steve Mims has spent 25 years as a sportswriter, including 21 years at The Register-Guard. He covered University of Oregon athletics from 2013-2020. He works in Eugene as a registered representative and insurance agent at PBC Insurance. He can be reached at smims@pbcins.com.