Ducks double up BYU with Pac-10 slate on deck.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

Oregon's recent run of success has been fueled by its pitching and defense. On Saturday, the offense joined the party.

Through a persistent rain and the constant threat of cancellation, the Ducks maintained their focus to defeat BYU, 8-0 and 4-0, in a nonconference doubleheader before a crowd of 161 at Howe Field.

Oregon (20-9) is 11-1 since March 5 and has won seven straight heading into next Friday's Pac-10 Conference opener at home against No. 17 Washington, followed by games Saturday and Sunday against defending national champion and 10th-ranked UCLA.

"Now that we're playing the way we can, it's going to make us a real tough team for them to deal with," UO coach Kathy Arendsen said.

The Cougars (17-8) were certainly no match for the Ducks, who have now recorded shutouts in five of their past eight games. In fact, in Oregon's last 11 wins, it has allowed only eight runs overall and never more than three in a game.

Against BYU, pitchers Lindsey Kontra and Amy Harris kept the Cougars' bats in check.

Kontra (4-1), a senior changeup specialist expected to contribute primarily as a reliever, recorded only the second shutout of her career in Saturday's opener.

She allowed three singles over five innings and has now given up just one run in her last 20 innings.

"She's pitching real well," said Arendsen, whose team committed just one error in their four-game homestand this weekend. "She's found her niche and she's definitely going to help us in the Pac-10. If she throws the same way, (Pac-10) teams will be just as vulnerable to her style of pitching."

Kontra was aided by a breakout game from the offense, which recorded 11 hits in the opener and helped end the game early when Kristi Jorgensen singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth to score the Ducks' eighth run of the game and fifth of the inning. It was the most runs scored by Oregon since a 9-0 victory against Illinois-Chicago on March 3.

The Ducks got going early in the first game, scoring twice in the first inning on RBI hits from Beth Boskovich and Ann Marie Topps.

A single by Lovena Chaput in the second made it 3-0 Oregon, then in the fifth the Ducks scored four times with two outs, including Jorgensen's game-ender.

"We hadn't broken out like we did in the first game in a long time," Arendsen said. "That was neat to see. We just started timing hits and life is a lot easier when you've got a five, six-run lead."

It proved to be plenty of support for Kontra, who stuck to the style that has made her so successful as of late.

"A lot of offspeed stuff," Kontra said. "I'm just mixing it up and keeping them off balance. That's basically what I try to do."

Harris (10-4) was just as strong in the second game, allowing three hits while striking out seven in her complete game.

Once again, the Ducks struck early, scoring on a bases-loaded walk by Ashley Richards in the first, and on a solo home run by Chaput in the second for a 2-0 lead.

Chaput, a freshman left fielder who had four hits, three RBIs and two runs scored over the two games, drove in the Ducks' third run with a single in the third, and T.J. Eadus added another solo home run in the fourth.

"We kind of have a little momentum building right now," Chaput said. "We've had the defense and we've had the pitching and now our hitting has come through."

And just in time, too.

"Our real season is about to begin ... and I believe we're ready," Arendsen said.

CAPTION(S):

Kristi Jorgensen's (center) game-ending RBI brings congratulations from UO teammates Kayleen Hudson and Lovena Chaput (5) Saturday. Chris Pietsch / The Register-Guard Oregon's Kayleen Hudson (right) beats the tag of BYU's Brooke Boyce to steal second in the first game Saturday.