Liberty's Paige Doerr leaps to snag a ball hit to the wall in the first inning of the first game of Eugene Super Regional on Friday in Eugene, Oregon.
Ben Cates
In Eugene, Oregon, Dezianna Patmon's single to center off Elena Escobar gave No. 16 Oregon a 3-2 walk-off victory in a wild first game of the Eugene Super Regional at Jane Sanders Stadium that began Friday night and ended in the wee hours Saturday morning.
Patmon, the Ducks hero who delivered a walk-off home run to get her team into the Super Regional, put the Lady Flames within one loss of elimination. Liberty (50-15) will now have to win two straight in a hostile environment in order to achieve its goal of advancing to the Women's College World Series.
"I'm trying to just do my job and keep us in it," Patmon said.
Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday and a winner-take-all game, if necessary, would be held Sunday.
Liberty fell behind Friday 2-0 when Oregon (52-8) got a run-scoring triple from Kai Luschar and an RBI single from Stefini Ma'ake in the bottom of the third.
Paige Doerr doubled home KK Madrey to bring Liberty within one run, 2-1, in the top of the fourth, and the Lady Flames tied the game in the sixth when pinch hitter Alexia Carrasquillo looped a single to left, scoring Doerr.
But the game was defined more by odd developments than by offense.
In the bottom of the first, Oregon attempted a squeeze bunt that brought home speedy leadoff hitter Luschar. Liberty coach Dot Richardson challenged the play, arguing that Luschar left third base too early. A video review showed Luschar lifted her foot off the base at third prior to Escobar releasing the pitch, then re-established her position on the base before breaking for home.
The ruling was important, because it took away Oregon's first run of the evening.
With the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the seventh, Luschar, the nation's leader in stolen bases, swiped second. Richardson used her second and final challenge on the play. Again, review showed Luschar had lifted her foot off the base prior to Escobar releasing the pitch. And again, Luschar was called out.
In the top of the eighth, Liberty's Rachel Craine knocked a two-out blooper to left, then gave way to pinch runner Aubry Norris. Oregon coaches challenged Norris' insertion into the game, and umpires ruled the substitution was illegal, deeming it a missed representation of the jersey number. That out call ended Liberty's chance at a two-out rally off reliever Staci Chambers.
The game also featured a couple notable defensive plays. Doerr had an inning-ending catch in left in the first, possibly stealing an Oregon home run. And in the top of the second, Oregon center fielder Kedre Luschar stretched out on the run for a diving catch in the left-center gap.
Chambers (3-0) earned the win by allowing one hit in 2 1/3 innings. She was extremely effective, retiring six of the seven batters she faced.
Escobar took the loss, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits across 7 1/3 innings. But Liberty's mainstay in the circle kept her pitch count low for an extra-innings affair, throwing just 109 total, giving Richardson the opportunity to use her if needed Saturday night.
Doerr and Savanah Woodard each went 2 for 4 for Liberty.
Liberty left seven runners on base.
"It was a game that we easily could have won," Richardson said. "We left a lot of runners on base. Especially when you've got them at third with no outs, we're right there."
The Lady Flames knocked off Texas A&M, the nation's No. 1 team, last weekend in College Station, Texas, to reach the first Super Regional in program history.
"We're excited about [Saturday]," Richardson said. "We'll put this game [behind us], just learn from it."
Ben Cates, (434) 385-5527
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