Ducks clinch spot in OKC behind Lyndsey Grein's dominant pitching performance

EUGENE, Ore. — For the first time in seven seasons under head coach Melyssa Lombardi, the Oregon Ducks are headed to Oklahoma City to play in the Women's College World Series.

"From the beginning of the year, we talked about that this group is just different," Lombardi said said after the 16-seeded Ducks advanced. "They were really special. We could feel that from day one."

After a lead-off homer by Liberty's Savannah Woodard, Oregon starter Lyndsey Grein delivered a signature performance to lead her team to a 13-1 victory, retiring 19 batters in a row from the first to seventh innings to shut down the Flames as her offense exploded for the most runs in a super regional game in program history.

For Grein, who struggled over the final weeks of the regular season, it was her first seven-inning complete game since she shut out Florida State in early March, while her 10 strikeouts marked her first time with double digits Ks since fanning 11 Washington Huskies back in mid-March.

"I really just worked with Coach to make the adjustments necessary to perform for my team today," Grein said. "Securing last night, having the bullpen staff that we have, it just makes it so freeing to pitch. And then on top of that, you add an outstanding defense, an outstanding offense, I mean, my job is really the easy part compared to what these guys do."

The Ducks (53-8) got a boost to their lineup with the return of freshman Rylee McCoy, who was struck in the face by a line drive in the second half of last weekend's doubleheader against Stanford. McCoy, who tied the single-season home record, was held out of the lineup on Friday, and made her return on Saturday as the Ducks' designated hitter, smacking a pair of singles to finish 2-for-4 at the plate. 

"It was amazing," McCoy said of getting to step back on the field. "I don't ever want to take a game off, so being back, standing in the box, and everyone giving me a standing ovation and cheering for me, I got chills."

With Oregon designated as the away team, Liberty's Kaylan Yoder plunked Kai Luschar with her third pitch of the game. She swiped second, and just like on Friday, Liberty (50-15) challenged that she had left the base early. But this time, after a replay, the call on the field was upheld. She tried to take third too on a ball in the dirt to Paige Sinicki, but after another challenge by Liberty, this one was overturned to say that catcher Savannah Jessee's throw and third baseman Rachel Crain's tag had beaten Luschar to the base, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the frame, Woodard jumped on Grein's third pitch, sending it off the scoreboard in right to take an early lead. Conference USA Player of the Year Rachel Roupe followed with a single, but Grein dialed back in, fanning the next three batters in a row to end the inning. Roupe was the last Liberty batter to reach base until a seventh-inning infield single as Grein shut down the Flames' bats.

"I looked around at my teammates and I was like, 'There's no way I'm gonna let that happen again,'" Grein said. "I just looked at the people around me, they don't need that. I just decided to step it up and do whatever I had to do."

Back up to the plate to lead off the second after her first-inning at-bat was cut short when Luschar was caught stealing, Sinicki attacked the 2-2 offering from Yoder, sending it the opposite way over the right-center fence to tie the game. Yoder then walked the next batter, Dezianna Patmon, on four pitches before a single by Kaylynn Jones and another walk to Katie Flannery would load the bases. The Flames made a pitching change, calling on Paige Bachman to face Luschar as the lineup flipped back over. She grounded Bachman's second pitch to short, but flew down the basepath to beat the throw as Patmon scored to put the Ducks ahead.

Grein sat Liberty down one-two-three again in the third, bringing her to nine straight retired after the homer and single led off the game. When the Ducks came back to the plate, Jones dropped the first pitch from Bachman perfectly into left, taking second as both Liberty outfielders overran the ball before Flannery followed by shooting her own two-bagger into the right-center gap to make it 3-1. 

Grein continued cruising, fanning her fifth batter of the game to end her third straight one-two-three inning in the fourth. Sinicki singled to lead off the top of the fifth before Patmon drew her third walk of the game, prompting another Liberty pitching change as Friday's starter Elena Escobar entered. McCoy was called out on a controversial strike three to bring Cox to the plate, who launched her second homer of the postseason out to left, extending Oregon's lead to 6-1.

After Grein retired the Flames in order in the bottom of the fifth, Escobar finally matched her by sitting the top of Oregon's lineup down in the top of the sixth, the first time the Ducks went down one-two-three. Grein came back out to the circle for the sixth — her first time pitching that deep since Game 1 against UCLA over a month ago — and looked just as strong as ever, fanning the side to bring her to 18 straight batters retired.

With one down in the top of the seventh, Patmon drew her fourth walk of the game before McCoy singled for the second time and Cox walked to load the bases. Jones quickly followed with a single through the left side to plate Patmon and extend Oregon's lead.

The onslaught was on from there. Each of the Luschar sisters would follow with singles to bring three more runs across before Stefini Ma'ake walked to reload the bases ahead of Sinicki, who would clear them with a triple off the right-field wall to make it 13-1 Ducks. 

Grein returned for the seventh, freezing Brynn McManus for the first out before Alyssa Henault was just out of the reach of Ma'ake's tag at first. It wouldn't matter, though, as a fielder's choice would erase the lead runner before Grein fanned Paige Doerr on three pitches for the final out of the game.

The celebration ensued as Grein's teammates rushed her on the field and the Jane Sanders Stadium crowd exploded into a frenzy.

"There'll never be a ceiling for this group," Grein said. "I think we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to."

What next for the Ducks?

They'll now head to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2018 as one of eight teams taking part in the 2025 Women's College World Series. Oregon will be placed into one of two four-team, double-elimination brackets starting on Thursday, with the winners of the two groups advancing to a three-game series to decide the national championship from June 4-6.

"The hardest thing about the World Series is getting there," said Lombardi, who won four national titles as an assistant at Oklahoma. "From there, you just get to play… This group's not just happy to be there, they're excited to go and compete."