Courtesy of Oregon Athletics – Rob Moseley
Under different circumstances, Danica Mercado might have been rooting on her Oregon softball teammates from the bench Friday when the Ducks opened Super Regional play against North Carolina State at Howe Field.
A week earlier in Regionals, UO coach Mike White used a three-player rotation at second base and right field that included Mercado, Alyssa Gillespie and Lauren Lindvall. The Ducks played three games, and White used three different combinations, with each player beginning one game on the bench.
Depending on what his gut told him — his gut being the decision-maker regarding such things, he said — White might have filled out Friday’s lineup card with Lindvall at second base, Gillespie in right and Mercado in reserve. But with Lindvall out due to a concussion suffered in practice, Mercado was assured a starting spot. And did she ever make the most of it.
Mercado drove in two runs from the No. 8 spot in the lineup and also provided the biggest defensive highlight from a game full of them, sparking the Ducks to a 6-1 victory and leaving them one game away from their third Women’s College World Series appearance in four years. Oregon will have two chances to beat the Wolfpack and win the series Saturday, with first pitch set for noon, to be followed by a decisive third game should North Carolina State win.
“We’re deep,” White said, in a nod to Mercado’s contributions. “And thank goodness we are.”
Mercado singled and was stranded at third in the third inning Friday. She was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, spurring Oregon’s four-run rally in the inning, and she drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Mercado also helped squelch the Wolfpack’s best rally. With two on and one out in the fourth, Maggie Hawkins drove a shot up the middle that Mercado dove to field. She then flipped the ball directly from her glove to shortstop Nikkie Udria at second base for the second out of the inning. Cheridan Hawkins struck out the next hitter to end the inning, one of a season-high-tying 14 strikeouts as the UO ace overcame a leadoff home run to whitewash the Wolfpack the rest of the way.
Mercado missed all of last season with a leg injury, and seemed determined to put that well behind her at the outset of this spring. She hit above .400 for most of February, and was still at .382 on March 25.
But she had hit just .267 since, while Lindvall hit .302 in the same time frame. That’s not a huge difference, but it contributed to the three-player rotation the Ducks have used recently at second base and right field.
“I know that Lauren’s a great second baseman, and when she’s in there I want her to be successful,” Mercado said. “And she’s my No. 1 fan when I’m playing second base. … Basically, if I’m not hitting and she is, why wouldn’t she play? We want to win.”
None of the Ducks hit much to open Friday’s game; Mercado’s single was their only hit the first time through the order. But the UO hitters worked four full counts the first time around against North Carolina State starter Emily Weiman. Seeing all those pitches paid off the next time through.
A walk and two singles loaded the bases to open the fourth. Two quick outs later, it appeared the Ducks might squander the chance — until Mercado was hit to tie the score, 1-1. Gillespie then put a ball in play to force an error that brought two runs across, and Udria capped the rally with an RBI single.
“I thought we battled up there,” White said. “We try to wear the pitcher down a little bit, and I thought that’s what we did.”
Hawkins, on the other hand, got better as the game wore on. She settled down nicely after a homer by Renada Davis on the second pitch of the game, before running into trouble with two one-out walks in the fourth. White visited the mound for a terse meeting, and Mercado followed with her defensive gem to help end the threat.
The Ducks then rallied into the lead, and Hawkins didn’t allow a baserunner over the final three innings. “It was definitely nice to get those runs, and then just try to get one out at a time from there,” she said.
Armed with the lead, Hawkins rose to the occasion and slammed the door on the Wolfpack. Mercado rose to the occasion, too, putting the Ducks one game away from a trip to Oklahoma City.
