No. 14 Ducks excited to make 2025 Jane Sanders debut this weekend

EUGENE, Ore. — Last weekend, Oregon softball made a statement at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The No. 14 Ducks finished the tournament a flawless 5-0, scoring five wins against quality opponents, including their first ranked victories of the season over Tennessee, San Diego State, and Missouri.

This weekend, the Ducks return to Eugene to begin their 2025 home schedule, hosting the first of two tournaments that Jane Sanders Stadium over the next two weeks. After a large step-up in the level of competition that Oregon faced in Cathedral City, the Ducks will take a slight step down in this weekend's Oregon Classic before No. 8 Florida State comes to town for the following weekend's Jane Sanders Classic.

"We talk a lot about having a faceless opponent," pitcher Lyndsey Grein said. "Treat everybody the same and stay within ourselves."

The Ducks will play five games in the Oregon Classic, starting with a 3:30 PM doubleheader against San Diego and Portland State on Friday. Oregon plays another doubleheader at the same time on Saturday, facing off with San Diego first and Loyola Chicago second, before wrapping up the weekend with Loyola Chicago again at 1 PM on Sunday.

"There's a good buzz going around right now about this group," head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of her team.

Heading into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Oregon found itself often overlooked despite its strong start to the season. In Cathedral City, Oregon finally saw high-level competition for the first time in 2025 and handled it with relative ease in an undefeated weekend. The Ducks showcased their ability to win games in multiple ways, bombing Missouri with five homers off four different bats but also battling into extra-innings to pull out a 1-0 win over Tennessee.

"If you look at each weekend, the first weekend built up to the second weekend, the second weekend built up to the third weekend," Lombardi said. "I think each weekend prepared us for what was next. So I look at Mary Nutter and how it's gonna prepare us for these next couple weekends coming up and that's how we've been looking at it all. Can we be better than the previous weekend?"

The work Oregon has put in on the field began to reap its rewards as the Ducks have gained more and more national recognition. Emma Cox and Stefini Ma'ake each brought home Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after the first two weekends of the season, but Rylee McCoy decided to step things up by being named not only the Big Ten Freshman of the Week but also D1 Softball's National Freshman of the Week. McCoy hit .438 with four home runs and, since entering the starting lineup at the Littlewood Classic in Arizona, has posted a .467/.515/1.133 triple slash as part of one of the nation's best freshman cores.

"I'm so pumped for them," senior shortstop Paige Sinicki said of the Ducks' freshmen. "It's so cool to just see each one of them doing their job on the field, and I feel like each week I'm like, 'Who's gonna be the next Freshman of the Week for the Big Ten?' I think it's just cool that they're out there playing free, playing for each other, and it makes my job a little easier knowing that they're so bought into our team and our culture."

The other Duck who received national attention for her showing at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic was Lyndsey Grein, who has quickly established herself as one of the Big Ten's most dangerous arms after transferring from Virginia Tech this past offseason. Grein was nearly unhittable this past weekend en route to being named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Pitcher of the Week and one of Softball America's four Stars of the Week. She fanned 24 batters across 18 scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and four walks in the process.

"I'm very grateful and thankful to be recognized," Grein said. "However, I still have a lot more work to do, and I look forward to doing it."

Grein came to Oregon as a pitcher with a dominant riseball that can put batters away at the top of the zone but worked relentlessly this offseason to improve her game, adding a dropball that has turned her into a more complete pitcher. With the injuries to Taylour Spencer and Staci Chambers that the Ducks have dealt with early on this season, Grein has been a stabilizing force in the circle and someone that Lombardi can count on at any time.

"She's a riseball pitcher and wanted to have a dropball, so that's all we worked on in the fall and over break," Lombardi said of Grein. "To see her get swings and misses and strikeouts with her dropball, I think it really opens up her spread and doesn't allow teams to just hunt one level."

While there has been plenty of excitement on the field for Oregon, much of the excitement this weekend will stem from this group's first chance to play in front of their home fans at the Jane. The Ducks finally get to put their suitcases away after an extended road trip and will be looking forward to the comforts of home in addition to opening day. 

For both returning starters like Sinicki as well as the transfer and freshman newcomers, this weekend will be an opportunity to show their fans what they have been working toward since the last time the Ducks played softball at the Jane last April.

"It's just such a special place to be," Sinicki said. "Just to be in front of all the fans with this type of group, it's so exciting. I'm so excited for them to talk about this team because we have something special going on."