No. 6 Oregon defeats No. 3 Arizona behind HRs, pitching

TUCSON, Ariz. – Nikki Udria and Lauren Lindvall both belted solo home runs in the sixth inning and the No. 6 ranked Ducks handed No. 3 Arizona its first home loss of the season, 4-3, on Sunday at Hillenbrand Stadium.

The Ducks (38-6, 11-6 Pac-12) tallied four runs on five hits with one error while the Wildcats (45-4, 15-3) posted three runs on six hits with a pair of errors.

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Arizona took an early lead with a run on a RBI single in the first inning. The Ducks wasted little time tying the game as freshman Shannon Rhodes belted a solo homer in the top of the second to make it a 1-1 game. Arizona went up 2-1 in the bottom of the second on a solo home run.

The Ducks tied it up again, 2-2, when Alexis Mack scored from third on an Arizona throwing error. Oregon found itself down, 3-2, as Arizona scored on a RBI single in the fourth.

Down 3-2 going into the sixth inning, two big swings changed the game for the Ducks. Udria smashed her team-leading 10th home run of the season to tie the game and two batters later, Lindvall sent one over the fence in right to give the Ducks a 4-3 lead.

Megan Kleist, making her second start against the potent Arizona lineup, was once again fantastic. After allowing just two runs (one earned) in a 2-0 loss on Friday, Kleist tossed another complete game on Sunday. The sophomore allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Kleist forced the big hitting Wildcats into 12 groundouts. The right-hander is now 14-3 on the season with a 1.54 ERA.

Shannon Rhodes, Nikki Udria and Lauren Lindvall all connected on solo home runs on Sunday. The Ducks belted three home runs for the second straight game.

With her solo homer in the sixth, Nikki Udria has now reached base safely in 38 straight games. She has failed to get on base in just one game this season.