Dezianna Patmon wasn't ready to 'hang up the cleats', lifts Ducks to Super Regionals with mighty swing

EUGENE, Ore. — With their backs against the wall, needing to beat Stanford twice in a row in order to advance, the No. 16 Oregon Ducks showed resilience on Sunday, battling to advance through the Eugene Regional. After Stanford's 14-1 stomping on Saturday, the Ducks answered back to run-rule the Cardinal 15-5 to force a winner-take-all game three, which Oregon would come from behind to win 10-7 on Dezianna Patmon's walk-off, three-run blast.

"These guys were on a mission to get what they want, to watch them come together as a team and just compete on every pitch was amazing," head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of her team. "This, to me, was the last little piece that I've been waiting on for this team. They have it, they just needed to know that whether we're up, we're down, it doesn't matter. These guys can go do and get what they want, and they did that today."

Game 1: Oregon 15, Stanford 5

With the Cardinal saving their best pitcher, Alyssa Houston — who allowed just two hits while striking out seven in 4 ⅓ innings of one-run ball on Saturday — the Ducks took full advantage in their first game on Sunday, scoring a postseason program-record 15 runs to force the winner-take-all rematch. 

Despite Stanford walking batters at one of the highest rates in the country this season, the Ducks drew just two free passes on Saturday. In Sunday's first game, they took 10, with four of those runners coming around to score.

"It was a big adjustment; we needed that," Lombardi said. "Timing-wise, we were early, and we were swinging at pitches out of the zone and getting ourselves out. Once they got on time, you could see that we were seeing the ball clearer, and then we started to see our walks and then do a good job of cashing in on the walks with a big swing."

Oregon (51-8) looked much more patient to begin things. Kai Luschar was hit to lead off the game before Stanford starter Kylie Chung walked three straight batters with one out to plate a run. With two down, Patmon softly grounded up the middle into the triangle between second, short, and the circle as she beat out the infield base hit to bring another run across.

The Ducks' defense began the game with its infield pulled around to the right side to counter Stanford's left-handed leadoff batter Taryn Kern. She grounded the second pitch from Oregon starter Lyndsey Grein straight into the shift, but Jones fumbled the transfer before missing her throw to first. A wild pitch let Kern take second before Emily Jones singled to move her to third, and two more wild pitches allowed both runners to score, tying the game.

Oregon's offense rode its first-inning momentum into the second as Chung continued to struggle to find the zone, walking Katie Flannery on four pitches before Kai Luschar beat out an infield single, and Kedre Luschar pulled a double into right to score Flannery. That would bring up Rylee McCoy, and on the second pitch she saw, the Ducks' first baseman crushed her 19th homer of the season to break the game open, tying Ann Marie Topps' single-season program record.

The Cardinal (42-13) finally made a pitching change as freshman Zoe Prystajko entered to relieve Chung, but Stefini Ma'ake immediately smacked a single before Jones misplayed the ball in center, allowing her to take second and score after sacrifices from Sinicki and Emma Cox.

Grein quickly picked up the first two outs of the bottom of the frame before Stanford catcher Allie Clements tagged her for a solo shot for the second time in as many games. Kern followed with a single, but when Jones sent a fly ball deep to the gap in left-center, Kedre Luschar tracked it down before making a full-extension catch to save a run and end the inning.

Grein and Prystajko traded three-up, three-down innings before a leadoff walk and a double from Caelan Koch put runners in scoring position with no outs to chase Grein in the bottom of the fourth. Elise Sokolsky entered, forcing a soft grounder for the first out before Clements struck again, this time shooting a single to right to cut into the Oregon lead. Kern followed with a sacrifice fly to the very top of the wall in center to make it 7-5, but Sokolsky got Jones to whiff at a changeup to end the inning.

With one down in the top of the fifth, Flannery singled to flip the lineup back over to Kai Luschar, who dropped down a perfect bunt to put two on. After taking the first two pitches from Prystajko, Kedre Luschar unloaded on the third, sending it 252 feet over the center field wall. McCoy walked before she was pinch run for by Presley Lawton, who came home when Sinicki blasted a triple that was just out of the reach of Jones in center.

The Cardinal then decided to go back to Chung in the circle, who had already allowed six earned runs, essentially conceding the game. Her first pitch went wild, allowing Sinicki to score before Patmon grounded out to end the inning.

Flannery walked with one down in the sixth to bring Kai Luschar back up, who smacked a first-pitch single into center to reach base for the fifth time in as many plate appearances. Kedre Luschar walked to load the bases before Chung proceeded to hit Ma'ake, walk, Sinicki, and allow McCoy to score on a wild pitch to make it 15-5 Ducks.

Sokolsky returned for the bottom of the sixth, now looking to end the game early with a run rule. She quickly struck out Chung before Flannery made a nice play at third for the second out. The lineup flipped back over to Kern, but Sokolsky fanned her for the final out, ensuring her Ducks would play at least one more game this season.

Game 2: Oregon 10, Stanford 7 

The Ducks were able to stave off a career day from Stanford first baseman Joie Economides, who homered twice to drive home all seven of their runs. Staci Chambers kept the Ducks in the game long enough to complete the comeback.

After Kern pulled a single through the Oregon shift to lead off the game, Grein — getting the start for the second time on Saturday — caught Jones looking for the first out. But River Mahler quickly followed with a single under McCoy's glove at first before Grein nailed Jade Berry to load the bases. A popup to Jones at second would give Grein her second out, and one pitch later, a foul popup behind the plate looked like it would end the inning. Cox tracked the ball, but as it hit her glove, she squeezed too early as the ball fell to the ground.

The Cardinal made sure the Ducks wouldn't get away with their mistake. Economides worked the count to even at 2-2 before getting all of Grein's sixth offering, sending her second homer of the weekend out to left for an emphatic grand slam.

Grein quickly got the first two outs of the second, but Kern ripped her first offering straight at McCoy, hitting her square in the face as she crumpled to the ground. After being attended to by coaches and trainers for a few minutes, the first baseman was able to walk off the field with assistance, heading straight to the Oregon locker room as Remmington Hewitt entered for the Ducks' star slugger.

Lombardi said that McCoy is "in a good spot," but that she doesn't "have a whole lot of updates."

Her exit was felt through the dugout.

"When she got hurt there, definitely, it was very emotional," Cox said of McCoy. "But I've never seen the team come together more than we did in that moment because she has meant so much to us this whole season. We wanted to do it even more for her."

Houston — fresh for Game 2 after not pitching earlier in the afternoon — gave Oregon some help to lead off the bottom of the second, walking Cox and Patmon to put two on for Flannery, who skied her second home run of the weekend out to left to cut the Stanford lead to one. 

That wouldn't last for long, though, as Grein hit Mahler to lead off the third before Berry singled to put two on for Economides, who launched yet another homer over the left-field fence to push Stanford's lead back to four. Lombardi decided to go to the bullpen, calling on the lefty in Chambers, who worked her way out of runners on the corners by fanning Kern.

In the bottom of the inning, Houston walked Sinicki to put a two-out base runner on for Cox, who redeemed her first-inning error by crushing her seventh home run of the year out to left, cutting Stanford's lead to 7-5.

"There's going to be tough breaks in any game," Cox said. "I'm thankful for my coaches and my teammates who pulled me through it. They said, 'Nope, you're coming along with us, we're getting you through.' And if it wasn't for them, I don't know where I'd be, so I'm super grateful for my teammates who believed in me and my coach who believed in me."

Chambers found a rhythm when she returned to the circle for the top of the fourth, retiring the Cardinal in order before doing the same again in the fifth after a scoreless frame from the Oregon offense.

"We were really trying to focus on one pitch at a time," Chambers said. "For me, I was just trying to put the team in a spot for us to win the game. Everything was just slowing it down. The game was high energy, high intensity, and I needed to do the opposite."

With a 2-2 count to lead off the bottom of the fifth, Kedre Luschar swung over the top of a pitch in the dirt from Houston, but was able to reach first as the ball rolled to the backstop. She quickly stole second before Ayanna Shaw — hitting in McCoy's spot in the lineup — singled to left to move her to third, where she was able to score on a wild pitch and obstruction call that was upheld after a review. Sinicki walked to put two on again, which would do it for Houston as Prystajko entered in relief, but Cox would line to Mahler at short, throwing over to first for the inning-ending double play to hold the Ducks a run behind.

After Chambers' third consecutive one-two-three inning, Patmon drove the first pitch she saw from Prystajko off the wall down the right-field line, racing to third for a triple. Prystajko fanned Braiesey Rosa and Flannery to bring Kai Luschar back up, tapping a single back to the circle to bring home Patmon as she beat the throw to first. 

With one down in the top of the seventh, a walk, a single, and a fielder's choice would put runners on the corners for Chambers, who would exit to a standing ovation after 4 ⅓ scoreless innings, the most she's thrown since the opening weekend of the season. Elie Sokolsky entered in relief to face Economides, responsible for all seven Stanford runs, forcing a huge grounder to Flannery at third to leave the runners stranded.

After Ma'ake popped up to short on the first pitch of the bottom of the frame, Sinicki slapped a single to right to put the winning run on base. She swiped second, and Clements' throw sailed into center, allowing Sinicki to take third. The Cardinal elected to intentionally walk Cox to give themselves a chance at a doubleplay, but that would bring up Patmon, fresh off a triple her last time up. On the first pitch, she blasted a moonshot into the Eugene night to walk things off as The Jane erupted.

"I wasn't hanging up the cleats today," Patmon said. "I know that we talked about that as seniors, we were not done. This was not the end of Version Seven's journey."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DUCKS?

Oregon has advanced through the Eugene Regional, and with Liberty's upset of No. 1 Texas A&M, will be in line to host a super regional next weekend for the first time since 2018. The Ducks and Flames will meet for a three-game series with a trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series on the line. Game 1 will come at 7 PM on Friday, with Game 2 at 4 PM on Saturday, and Game 3 to be determined if necessary.