Arms continue to shine in Sunday wins over No. 8 FSU and Abilene Christian

EUGENE, Ore. — Behind more dominant pitching, the No. 12 Oregon Ducks scraped by to win two games on Sunday, improving their record to 3-1 at the Jane Sanders Classic. Oregon picked up its second win of the weekend over No. 8 Florida State, shutting them out for the second time in as many games — the only two the Seminoles have been held scoreless in this season — before edging past Abilene Christian to bounce back from Saturday's loss to Oregon State.

Game 1: Oregon 1, Florida State 0

In their second game against top-10 ranked Florida State in the Jane Sanders Classic, the Ducks (23-2) followed the same game plan they used in game one. After Lyndsey Grein shut down the Seminole offense for seven scoreless innings on Friday night, Elise Sokolsky matched her in Sunday's first game, allowing just two hits en route to her second seven-inning complete-game shutout in an Oregon uniform.

Sokolsky was lights out from first pitch, sitting down the first 10 Seminoles she faced before finally allowing a single in the top of the fourth. She was masterful in her ability to change speeds on Sunday, starting by picking up strikeouts on her off-speed pitches early before mixing in the high heater for whiffs later in the game. She finished with five strikeouts, all swinging, while not issuing a single free pass.

"I think the biggest thing is keeping them off balance," Sokolsky said. "I know I use my change up a lot, but at some point, they're gonna start expecting it, so you've got to make them keep not expecting it."

On offense, the Ducks had opportunities to score early in the game, but baserunning mistakes and a lack of timely hitting held them to a zero through the first four frames. Kai Luschar was stranded on second in both the first and third innings, while in the second, Paige Sinicki reached on a bunt single before stealing second and advancing on a groundout but was picked off there for the first out of the inning. The next batter, Dezianna Patmon, would've brought her home with a bloop single into left but instead was thrown out to end the inning after aggressively rounding first. 

After going down one-two-three in the fourth inning, Oregon's offense finally sparked in the fifth. Kedre Luschar led off with a bunt single before two pitches later, Patmon smoked a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Patmon was pinch-run for by Elyse Kresho, who swiped her fourth steal of the year to give Braiesey Rosa, the hero of Friday night's game, two runners in scoring position.

Rosa lofted a perfectly placed base hit just over the head of Florida State's shortstop, bringing Luschar home for the only run of the game. The Ducks had a chance to add to their lead with no outs, but base-running aggressiveness would cost them again as Kresho was tagged out at home on an attempted double steal before Ayanna Shaw — Rosa's pinch runner — was stranded on second to end the inning.

"If someone told me before this weekend that I would do what I did, I would believe them," Rosa said. "I would just see myself pushing and keep going 100 percent for this team."

A mishandled ball by second baseman Kaylynn Jones put Sokolsky's second hit of the game on in the top of the sixth, but that would be all the Seminoles could muster, sending a pair of groundouts to Katie Flannery before flying out to Kedre Luschar in center to end the game in the seventh.

"The ball kind of went in the five-six hole… and I think she made it look extremely easy," Lombardi said of Flannery's defense at the hot corner. "But that was a difficult play. Those two [Flannery and Sinicki] needed to communicate and for her to continue on, pick the ball up, and throw a strike. If there's any hesitation, they're gonna be safe there, so I love what she's doing."

Game 2: Oregon 3, Abilene Christian 1

Despite playing a far inferior opponent in their second game on Sunday, the Ducks were forced to battle for a full seven innings to pull out yet another close game. Rosa, who didn't record her first career hit until last Sunday, was once again the hero, plating Oregon's first run on a sacrifice fly before crushing her second home run of the weekend out to left field.

Rosa was 0-for-15 in her career as a Duck before her RBI double a week ago, and since is 6-for-9 with the first two home runs of her career.

"Talking to coaches kind of changed my perspective in the box," Rosa said. "Just having that clear mindset and knowing that it's just me and the pitcher at that time."

Grein got the start in the circle and cruised through the first two innings, allowing a lone base runner on a walk, before a rare error from the Ducks' gold glove shortstop Sinicki put a runner on with two outs in the third. Abilene Christian's Taylor Bachmeyer attempted to steal second, but Rosa gunned her down from behind the plate to end the inning.

"My team's defense today was great," Rosa said. "So when they're having our pitchers' backs, I also have to have our pitcher's back."

In the bottom of the frame, Jones reached on an error before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch, scoring when Rosa sent a sacrifice fly into center field to break the tie.

A hit-by-pitch and an error put runners on the corners for Grein in the fourth, but she worked out of it with a popup to Sinicki. After Flannery was stranded following a double in the bottom of the fourth, Grein allowed her first hit of the game before snagging a line drive back to the circle to end the top of the fifth. 

With one down in the bottom of the inning, Rosa crushed her second-career home run over the left field fence to make it 2-0 Ducks. Oregon loaded the bases with walks from Abby Steffen, Kai Luschar, and Patmon, but Flannery flew out to center to end the inning, leaving all three runners stranded.

"She doesn't just tap the ball," Grein said of her backstop Rosa. "She makes a performance out of it. That ball flies. So it's been super fun to watch her succeed and take advantage of the opportunities she's been given. She works super hard for us pitchers behind the plate, and she's really stepped up, so it's been really awesome to play with her."

After a leadoff walk to start the sixth, Grein gave way to Sokolsky, who forced a grounder and a pair of flyouts to exit the inning unscathed. Kedre Luschar started the bottom of the frame with a bunt single, advancing to second and taking third on a sacrifice bunt from Stefini Ma'ake. Jones dropped down her own bunt single to bring her home, but after stealing second, was thrown out trying to take third to end the inning.

Sokolsky came back out for the seventh, trying to secure her first save of the season, but after two strikeouts to start the inning, allowed a two-out double to put a runner on second. A fly ball to left-center looked like it would end the game, but amid confusion, the Luschar sisters crashed into each other trying to make the catch, allowing a run to come home.

Kai Luschar would quickly make up for her mistake, though, laying all the way out for a diving grab down the left field line for the final out to secure the win for Oregon.

Of note, freshman first baseman Rylee McCoy missed her third straight game dealing with an apparent knee injury. McCoy, the Ducks' home run leader this season, went 1-for-3 on Friday night but has since been wearing a wrap on her knee in the Oregon dugout. Lombardi said that they are seeing "what's next for her," and that the best thing to do "is not play her."

The Ducks will finish off the Jane Sanders Classic at 10:30 AM on Monday, hosting Abilene Christian again for a rematch before they head up to Seattle next weekend to take on the Washington Huskies for their first Big Ten series.