May 18, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – Oregon shortstop Jenn Salling hit two home runs to lift the No. 20 Ducks to a 4-0 win over Penn State in the opening game of the Columbia Regional of the 2007 NCAA Softball Championship played Friday at the University of South Carolina’s Beckham Field.

Oregon improved to 43-17 overall with the win, while Penn State dipped to 26-24 with the loss.

Ducks right-hander Alicia Cook (22-4) scattered only four hits and allowed only two Penn State players to advance past first base all game. Penn State hurler Jenn Reynolds (13-10) matched Cook through the first 2 1/3 innings, holding the Nittany Lions scoreless with no hits before Sari-Jane Jenkins broke her spell with a single up the middle with one out in the third. Salling followed Jenkins’ single with the first of her two home runs, a frozen rope over the right-center field fence.

Her second homer was a fourth-inning blast that easily cleared the fence in center field and essentially slammed the door on Penn State.

The Ducks face the winner of the NC State vs. South Carolina game Saturday at 1 p.m. Penn State faces the loser of the NC State vs. South Carolina game in an elimination game set to start at 4 p.m. Saturday.