Oregon Ducks Softball Heads To The Super Regional

Oregon softball won their home regional in dramatic fashion yesterday, beating the Stanford Cardinal twice to advance to the Super Regional.

Second Game vs. Stanford

Lyndsey Grein started for the Ducks, with Stanford starting Kylie Chung. Chung ran into trouble early, loading the bases before walking in Oregon’s first run. Dezianna Patmon hit a single that scored another, and the Ducks were up 2-0.

For whatever mysterious reasons, Grein continues to struggle with her pitching control. Three wild pitches in the bottom of the first inning yielded two Cardinal runs, and the game was tied.

Oregon laid down the wood in the second inning, with five runs highlighted by Rylee McCoy’s three-run homer that tied Oregon’s record for home runs in a season.

Stanford responded with a home run in the bottom of the second inning, and the score was 7-3. The Ducks were scoreless in the third and fourth inning, and the Cardinal took advantage of Grein’s loss of control in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on base and no outs, Elise Sokolsky came into the game. Stanford scored two more runs and the score was a nervous 7-5.

The two runs that Stanford scored on Sokolsky would be the only runs they scored for the rest of the game. While the Ducks pitching was keeping the Cardinal at bay, Oregon’s batting laid on the runs.

With the score 12-5 after five innings, the Ducks scored another three runs in the top of the sixth inning off poor Stanford pitching, sending the score to our run-rule final of 15-5 – capped by Sokolsky’s 3-up, 3-down performance in the bottom of the inning. She was solid in striking out the first and third batters of the inning.

Lyndsey Grein got the win, while Sokolsky earned the save. Kedre Luschar led the way for Oregon’s offense, going 2-4 with four RBIs. Rylee McCoy and Paige Sinicki added another three RBIs each.

After the sides beat each other in run-rule wins during the previous two games, the stage was set for a dramatic, winner-take-all regional final showdown.

Third Game vs. Stanford

The final regional game was tense when, as anticipated, Stanford put Alyssa Houston at the start. Houston had owned the Ducks in their first match that sent Oregon into the elimination round. Could she do it again? It certainly looked possible when the Cardinal opened the game with a grand slam.

Oregon was not able to score in the bottom of the first. Disaster seemingly struck in the top of the second inning when Rylee McCoy was hit in the face with a Stanford hit that was so fast she could not react. McCoy left the game, presumably with a broken nose, and did not return. A hush fell over The Jane. The somber mood began to subside with Katie Flannery’s 3-run home run that pulled Oregon to within one run.

The drama continued to unfold as Joie Economides – who hit Stanford’s grand slam in the first inning – hit a 3-run shot that pulled Stanford ahead 7-3.

That ended Grein’s day, and the Ducks brought Staci Chambers to the circle. Chambers had pitched briefly in the early part of the season before an injury sidelined her. Her pitching had not been particularly sharp since returning and easing into the pitching rotation. There was nothing to indicate anything other than another horrible pitching performance by the pitching staff when Oregon needed their best when it counted – and here, it most certainly counted.

Staci Chambers did the unthinkable. She completely shut down the Stanford offense, and allowed the Ducks to get back into the game. All Oregon needed was to have their bats step up the way that Chambers stepped up.

Bat they did, starting with Emma Cox hitting a shot that brought the score to 7-5.

Oregon did not score in the fourth inning, but did score another in the fifth inning due to a Cardinal obstruction error at home plate. When Kai Luschar hit a single in the next inning that froze the pitcher, the Ducks tied the ballgame and you could begin to sense that they were going to get it done.

Top of the seventh inning. Score is tied. Oregon needs to keep Stanford off home plate and win this thing. Chambers has pitched well but is showing some cracks.

Lombardi left Staci Chambers in as long as she dared. With two outs and runners on the corners, Elise Sokolsky came in to end the top of the inning. She did, but that does not diminish Chambers’ huge contribution to this Ducks win.

Dramatic bottom of the seventh. Paige Sinkicki singles, steals second, but advances to third on a throwing error. Emma Cox is intentionally walked in favor of facing Dezianna Patmon.

Patmon’s walkoff home run sent Stanford back to The Farm, and Oregon to the Super Regional – a Super Regional that will be hosted in Eugene.

Oregon will host Liberty, who stunned the softball world with the first upset of a #1 seed in a regional when they knocked off Texas A&M. Of course, Liberty is overjoyed right now.

Oregon Diamond Ducks fans now have at least one more weekend of tournament play to look forward to.