Softball: Oregon gets hot at the plate, in the field to top Dixon

OREGON – After a fast start, Oregon kept its foot on the gas Friday at Oregon Park West, defeating Dixon 11-1 in five innings in the Big Northern Conference opener for both teams.

Emma Schlichtmann threw four no-hit innings and drove in three runs, Ella Dannhorn and Olivia Paul smashed solo home runs, and Kaelin Shaffer added a bases-loaded double to end the game in the bottom of the fifth for the Hawks (4-3, 1-0 BNC).

“Everybody played so well tonight. It’s like a breath of fresh air just to see everybody getting something done on the field to help the team,” Dannhorn said. “Especially since this is a conference game and we kind of consider Dixon one of our rivals, winning this game was really important – and winning by that much will really help our confidence.”

Schlichtmann gave up one earned run without allowing a hit, walked two runners and gave up a sacrifice fly to Bailey Tegeler in the top of the third inning. She struck out two, and worked 1-2-3 innings in the first, second and fourth, before Brooke-Lynn Halverson struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning of relief in the fifth.

Schlichtmann credited her defense with keeping the Duchesses (1-6, 0-1) off the base paths.

“My defense was the key for me today, if I’m being honest,” Schlichtmann said. “I came out hot, then I struggled a little bit in the third inning, but my defense had my back the entire game. I definitely would not be where I am without my defense. We had a rough first game against Amboy, but since then we’ve locked it down.”

Neither defense committed an error. Dixon put the ball in play the whole game, but had no hits to show for it. Still, the flawless defense and contact at the plate is something Tegeler and her teammates will look to build on as the season goes on.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on hitting, and I feel like today we really came out and hit the ball. Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted – we hit it right to the defense – but if we keep swinging, it’ll come,” Tegeler said. “And I thought our defense did really well. They hit the ball hard, and we made some great plays and we didn’t make any errors, which is a good sign.

“Really, I think we have a lot of motivation coming into these kind of games. We love to play, and we’re always excited to play.”

Oregon got on the board right away, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. The first four batters drew walks, with Madison Shaffer’s driving in a run. Abree Barker then had a sacrifice fly and Sarah Stevens laid down an RBI bunt for a 3-0 lead. Schlichtmann ripped a two-out single to left to drive in the final run.

Schlichtmann helped her own cause again in the third inning, ripping a bases-loaded single to right. Two runs scored on the hit, and the third came in when Schlichtmann stopped halfway between first and second to draw the throw from the defense.

“I think we were trying to see what she was going to throw, and she did walk a few girls early on,” Dannhorn said. “I think having those baserunners right away helped, and then we got aggressive later on and started hitting gaps and hitting the ball hard.”

Dannhorn hit a no-doubt homer to left in the fourth, then Madison Shaffer drove in Kaelin Shaffer with a two-out RBI single. It was Kaelin’s turn in the fifth, as she came up with one out and the bases loaded; she smoked a double to left-center to clear the bases, but only one run counted because of the 10-run rule.

Paul’s pinch-hit home run led off the fifth to make it 10-1 before Shaffer’s game-ending hit four batters later.

“It was a good night, and it was definitely a group effort. Being a pitcher having not only your defense working for you, but also the bats, is phenomenal,” Schlichtmann said. “You know you can throw whatever pitch you want to and you’ll be fine. If we mess up on defense, we can make it up with the bats.

“Coming out hot in conference is always exciting, so that’s a good start, and I think there are exciting things to come.”

Allie Abell went the distance in the circle for the Duchesses, striking out three, walking six and hitting a batter while allowing 10 hits.