Duck hunting: Huskies hammer Oregon schools

May 4, 2009, 12:00 AM

Nothing helps an ailing offense like a three-game series against the two worst teams in the conference. Especially when you have an unstoppable All-American pitcher who barely allows them to make contact. Danielle Lawrie capped a perfect week in the circle for the Washington softball team by striking out 18 batters in an 8-2 win over Oregon yesterday, one day after the Huskies beat the Ducks 11-0 in five innings. They also came back for a 5-2 win over Oregon State Friday. And now, in the midst of a four-game winning streak with their final three regular season games at home, it looks like the Huskies might be starting to peak at the right time. "I'd like to say so," UW head coach Heather Tarr said. "I think people are finding out who they are as hitters, and we can help some people figure out what's best for them offensively." The Ducks helped them out, too. A bases-loaded ground ball by Morgan Stuart in the third inning yesterday ended up scoring four runs. When UO shortstop Lindsey Chambers booted it, Oregon left-fielder Sari-Jane Jenkins threw the ball to the plate to try to throw out Dani Stuart, who was trying to score from second. Ducks catcher Kaitlin Vitek threw the ball to third to try to throw out Alyson McWherter, who started the play on first base. Vitek's throw sailed over the head of the third baseman and all the way down the left-field line, allowing Morgan Stuart to come all the way around to score. Vitek did the same thing in the first, allowing two runs to score after she misfired while trying to throw out Ashley Charters at third base on a stolen-base attempt. It was never a game after that. "Whoever we're facing, we want to put pressure on the defense," Tarr said. "And if you do that, you're going to make things happen. We made the pitcher throw strikes. She threw strikes; we capitalized on them. When you have to field the ball a lot, there's chances you're going to make errors." Lawrie threw strikes, too, but Oregon wasn't hitting any of them. Only five Ducks batters put the ball in play - they scored both of their runs on a jam-shot single by Cortney Kivett in the second inning. Lawrie's 18 whiffs tied a career-high for a seven-inning game. "No knock on Oregon, but you can't lose those games," Lawrie said. "When the Oregons come, you've got to execute, and you've got to get it done. And we've really done a good job of that." A better job than the first time around against these teams, at least. The UW managed just two runs against the Ducks in Eugene earlier this season, then needed nine innings to hold off the Beavers 2-1. Ashlyn Watson hit home runs in both games against the Ducks in Seattle, teaming with Charters, who went 5-for-9 in the two games, to lead what was the Huskies' most impressive offensive display in a conference series this season. "This weekend was good," Lawrie said. "The whole four games, starting Wednesday [against UCLA]. We kind of got some momentum going into this weekend, put some runs up early, and it was kind of contagious throughout the game." Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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