Oregon's push for yet another Pac-12 softball championship became just a tad easier with a weekend series win over Arizona State in Tempe. Oregon took the first two games of the series (5-0, 9-1) before the Sun Devils responded with a 4-0 shutout win on Sunday to avoid the three-game sweep.

Both teams entered the weekend in the top 10 nationally, the Ducks at No. 3 and ASU at No. 7, but the Ducks showed their supremacy in two dominant wins on Friday and Saturday.

First, Oregon (34-7, 9-3) blanked Arizona State (34-7, 8-4) on Friday behind Megan Kleist's complete game shutout. Kleist allowed two hits in the opening inning, but retired 18 of 19 from there including nine via punch-out.

The Duck offense also got off to a slow start, as neither side plated a runner in the first four innings. That's when the Ducks managed to make the most of an ASU throwing error and some timely hitting to take a 2-0 lead after five. They tagged on a pair of insurance run homers off the bats of freshman Mary Iakopo and senior Jenna Liley in the sixth and seventh.

The Ducks jumped on the Sun Devils on Saturday via the long ball. They hit six homers, accounting for eight of the team's nine runs. Reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Gwen Svekis led the way with two homers, and April Utecht, Iakopo, DJ Sanders and Lauren Lindvall each hit shots of their own. Utecht, Svekis, Sanders and Lindvall each drove in two runs.

Miranda Elish was once again marvelous in the circle on Saturday. Last week's Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week struck out 12 batters and allowed just one run and four hits over seven innings. She improved her season record to 14-1.

The Duck bats were unable to find their rhythm in the third game as ASU's Giselle Juarez blanked the Ducks for just the third time this season.

The two wins improve the Ducks to 9-3 in Pac-12 play and place them third behind Washington (12-2) and UCLA (12-3). Oregon took two of three games from the Bruins last month and will head to Seattle on April 27 for a crucial three-game series.

Next up for the Ducks is No. 2 Oklahoma on Thursday in a late non-conference showdown between two of the nation's best, followed by a three-game home series against seventh-place Stanford.

The Sooners eliminated Oregon from last year's WCWS in the semifinals on their way to a national championship. First pitch from Jane Sanders will be at 4 PM.

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