No. 4 Oregon looking to win fifth straight conference series over Minnesota this weekend

EUGENE, Ore. — Despite an upset loss to Loyola Marymount on Monday, that soured what had been a phenomenal weekend, the Oregon Ducks are still riding high deep into conference play. Before they were caught by surprise on Monday afternoon, the Ducks swept the reigning Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines over the weekend to extend their win streak to nine games. 

Those wins over Michigan — the fourth straight conference series that Oregon (35-4, 9-1) has taken — have shot Melyssa Lombardi's team up the national rankings, reaching as high as No. 4 this week in ESPN.com/USA Softball's latest poll. But even with their now season-long success, the Ducks have emphasized a neutral mentality all year, looking to stay unaffected by the highs and lows of an arduous softball season.

"I just try to think about every pitch as an individual event," senior outfielder Kai Luschar said. "Because you can't let the pitch before ruin your entire at-bat. Or you can't let your error on defense ruin your next three at-bats. So just really trying to isolate those events and take the good, learn from the bad, and move on."

This has helped Lombardi's squad be able to bounce back from their losses, something her team now needs to do after their most recent defeat to LMU. Monday's loss was just their fourth of the season, but each time the Ducks have been able to follow those losses with lengthy winning streaks. After being defeated by Arizona State early in the season, Oregon reeled off 16 straight wins before it fell to Oregon State. The Ducks then followed that loss with an emphatic second victory over a top-10 Florida State team, their first of five straight wins before they lost the final game of their series with Washington, which was then followed by a nine-game win streak that ended on Monday.

"We're just going out and playing like us," senior righty Elise Sokolsky said. "Playing Oregon softball."

That neutral mentality has been one of the most important things for Lombardi, as it allows her team to focus on the things that really matter, like their preparation and their process.

"When we do those two things, we do really good things," Lombardi said. "When we start to get more caught up in outcome or other things that don't matter, that's when we get in trouble a little bit."

Being able to stay neutral will be a key for the Ducks this weekend when they head to Minnesota for their third Big Ten road series of the season. The Golden Gophers (14-23, 3-10) are tied for 13th in the Big Ten standings with a losing record on the year, presenting a very winnable series for Oregon. But as showcased on Monday, that doesn't mean that the Ducks will be guaranteed victory.

Oregon's trip to Minneapolis will be followed by four games that have, without a doubt, been circled on the Ducks' calendar all year. After returning from Minnesota, Oregon will make a short trip up I-5 to close out their season series with their in-state rivals, whom they took down 9-1 a week ago to even it at one game apiece. The Ducks will then have to prepare for the biggest series the Big Ten will see this season between Oregon and the No. 7 UCLA Bruins, the two highest-ranked teams in the conference.

With such important games coming up, the Ducks have to ensure they don't lose focus this weekend and suffer another upset loss like they did on Monday. 

"You have to be able to continue to advance in these areas because it's gonna only continue to get tougher and tougher," Lombardi said. "We feel like we're playing at our best right now, well, so is everybody else."

Oregon is nearly halfway through its 22-game conference schedule, and with the standings bunched up with a three-way tie for first at the top, every game becomes increasingly important. The top four seeds in the Big Ten will receive a bye in the first round, meaning finishing at the top of the regular season standings would put Oregon one step closer to its first conference championship since 2018.

"Every game has its purpose," Sokolsky said. "And a lot of it comes out down towards the end."