#1 Seed Oregon Shutout by #5 Seed Florida

A day after tossing a one-hit shutout in a win against Florida State, Oregon starter Cheridan Hawkins (34-5) took the loss against Florida after allowing four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Florida pitcher Hannah Rogers tossed a three-hit shutout and the No. 1 seed Oregon softball team fell to No. 5 seed Florida, 4-0, on Friday at the Women's College World Series. Photo: goducks.com

(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) - Florida pitcher Hannah Rogers tossed a three-hit shutout and the No. 1 seed Oregon softball team fell to No. 5 seed Florida, 4-0, on Friday at the Women's College World Series.

With the loss, the Ducks (55-8-1) face an elimination game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PT on ESPN. Oregon will face the winner of another elimination game earlier in the day, between No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 7 Oklahoma.

Oregon was shutout for just the second time this season on a season-low three hits while Florida (52-12) posted four runs on eight hits.

A day after tossing a one-hit shutout in a win against Florida State, Oregon starter Cheridan Hawkins (34-5) took the loss against Florida after allowing four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Florida struck first, with a deep home run to left-center by right fielder Bailey Castro to lead off the second inning.

Castro came through again for the Gators in the third, this time with a two-out RBI single to left. The damage continued for Oregon later in the inning when a ball lost in the sun was dropped, allowing two runners to score.

After Hawkins allowed a walk and a single in the fourth inning, the Ducks pulled her and went with Karissa Hovinga. The junior, who tossed two perfect innings of relief in the 2012 WCWS as a freshman, gave up a single to load the bases but then retired the next two batters to end the threat.

Hovinga allowed another single to start the fifth inning, but responded by striking out the next three Gators swinging on just 11 pitches.

All in all, Hovinga gave up just three hits in 3 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks.

NOTES: Courtney Ceo’s 100th hit of the season extended her hitting streak to 17 games and her on-base streak to 30 games. … Oregon is now 3-5 all-time at the WCWS. … The Ducks are 0-2 against Florida this year after also falling to the Gators in nonconference play. … Oregon’s three hits were the fewest for the Ducks this season. … The previous low was four hits against UNLV on Feb. 14. … Oregon entered the Florida game with at least eight hits in nine straight games and 10-plus hits in six of the last seven games. ... The Ducks were shutout for the second time this year, the first coming against James Madison on March 15 in Hawaii.

Source: goducks.com