Oregon Daily Emerald

Sports

	Steady as she goes Junior right-hander Melissa Rice has been a stabilizing force in the circle for the past 3 years for the Ducks, taking on a significant portion of the pitching duties by Jeffrey Dransfeldt Melissa Rice punched the air and swung her legs in a mock demonstration of her new kickboxing skills. Smiling at the same time, the intimidating pitcher revealed a calmer, easy-going demeanor away from the mound. The start of spring term brought with it a kickboxing class and the relaxed Rice had just started learning moves with her classmates.
	Ducks fall short in final seconds to Denver, 13-12 Oregon starts comeback after being down 10-5 with 17 min. left but is unable to close the deal by Andrew Greif If you believe what Oregon lacrosse coach Jen Larsen preaches to her players, then scoring what would have been the game-tying goal from 70 yards away in less than nine seconds should have been routine for the Ducks on Saturday against Denver. "Jen always tells us to get a goal you need seven seconds from the draw," freshman midfielder Alex Breiner said.
	Sunday's triumph puts softball team back on track In My Opinion \| Three To Win by Jeffrey Dransfeldt The moment Joanna Gail snatched the sharply hit ground ball and tagged third base, the game was over. Oregon could release a giant sigh of relief. "I can't even tell you how important it is for us," Gail said. "Especially Arizona, who is one of those teams that you always aspire to beat and it's such a big win and especially at this point of the season we needed that emotional lift.
	Oregon opens league play with a giant sweep The Ducks scored 33 runs over the weekend and also had 36 hits by Ben Schorzman \| Freelance Reporter The Oregon club baseball team swept Eastern Washington University this past weekend, improving its record to 10-4 overall, 3-0 Northern Pacific West Conference. The Ducks outscored the Eagles by 24 runs, and they posted scores of 12-5, 10-3, and 11-1. "It was a good weekend," Bryan Hansen said.