Tehya Bird powers Oregon softball past Notre Dame in Fayetteville Regional

Tehya Bird is proving to be a different player in critical situations and in the postseason.

The Oregon third baseman, a .277 hitter on the season, is hitting more than 100 points higher with two outs and runners in scoring position following yet another clutch hit.

Bird’s three-run home run in the second capped a 10-pitch at-bat and gave Oregon the lead for good in a 5-4 win over Notre Dame Friday afternoon at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

“I thought she had a really good at-bat,” Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “She continued to foul off pitches; it allowed her to get in a really good rhythm at the plate and then she got her pitch to hit. Love all these guys in different moments have come up big for us. It’s not just one or two.”

The Ducks (36-15) advance to the winner’s bracket semifinal and will face the winner of regional host No. 11 seed Arkansas and Harvard at 12 p.m. PT Saturday. The Fighting Irish will play the loser of that game in the first elimination game of the regional at 2:30 p.m.

Notre Dame (29-18-1) struck first as Joley Mitchell hit a one-out double to left center. Karina Gaskins nearly followed with a two-run home run to right center, but Hanna Delgado tracked it down and robbed the Fighting Irish with a catch over the wall.

“Hanna was big,” Lombardi said. “That could have made the game look a little different, especially with how it finished with us winning by one. We’ve been talking about that, our defense. Defense wins championships and what our defense has been doing all year, I hope for them to continue to do it throughout postseason.”

A similar play effectively ended UO’s season a year ago, when Arkansas’ Rylin Hedgecock hit a bases-clearing double to center off the glove of then-Ducks outfielder Jasmine Williams, who moved to center with Delgado going to left in last year’s regional.

Mitchell advanced and later scored on a single down the line in left by Lexi Orozco off Stevie Hansen (19-6), who gave up two runs on five hits and a walk over 5.0 innings in the win.

“(Delgado’s play) helps me relax a lot more,” Hansen said. “I know the girls are working really hard. I see them, working hard every day at practice and I know they pick me up all the time, constantly, whether if it’s on defense or up to bat. It helps me relax and know whatever happens they’ve got me.”

Oregon rallied for five runs in the second, all with two outs. Alyssa Daniell and KK Humphreys each drew four-pitch walks to bring up Bird. The junior, who had a pair of prolonged at-bats and clutch single in last week’s Pac-12 tournament, battled and hit a 3-2 pitch to left center for a three-run home run.

“I don’t really think about it as two outs; I know there’s runners on base and it makes me think more to whatever you do just put the ball in play and good things happen,” Bird said. “I thought it was going to be a popup right at the wall because I kind of was a little bit early on because it was a changeup. But the ball flies in Arkansas. Then I was surprised running around the bases.”

It was the seventh home run of the season for Bird, her fourth on a two-strike count and third with the count full. She’s hitting .391 (9 for 23) with a home run and 13 RBIs with two outs and runners in scoring position this season, with only Allee Bunker (.526, 14 RBIs) performing better for UO in those spots.

Paige Sinicki followed with a bunt single and scored on a triple by Kai Luschar, who was driven in two batters later by Bunker.

Payton Tidd allowed five runs on four hits and three walks in the loss for Notre Dame.

Following a rain delay of 2:24, each team stranded a runner in the fifth, then the Fighting Irish scored three in the sixth.

Mitchell and Gaskins hit back-to-back doubles and Orozco singled to put runners on the corners. Raegan Breedlove got back-to-back groundouts, the first coming after a collision on the first base line between Humphreys and Leea Hanks, who was called out for obstruction. Jane Kronenberger delivered a pinch hit, two-run single to right to cut the gap to 5-4 and end the day for Breedlove, who allowed two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings.

Morgan Scott earned her seventh save with a perfect 1.1 innings to close it out.