No. 5 Oregon makes quick work of Hoosiers to extend lead in Big Ten softball standings

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The No. 5 Oregon Ducks swept their way through the Indiana Hoosiers this weekend, extending their lead atop the Big Ten standings as they head towards the final weekend of the regular season. Indiana led when a rain delay hit less than halfway into the first game of the series, but it was all Ducks after play resumed as the Ducks lit up the Hoosiers en route to a win before taking games two and three for the sweep.

Game 1: Oregon 10, Indiana 4

When a rain delay settled in with one out in the third inning, the Ducks (44-5, 17-2) trailed after a three-run homer in the first inning put Indiana ahead early. A wild pitch and an RBI single chopped off the bat of Kai Luschar got a pair of runs back for Oregon starter Lyndsey Grein in the top of the second. But when the game was put on hold due to stormy conditions an inning later, the Hoosiers still held a 3-2 lead.

As if the rainy conditions reminiscent of their home in the Pacific Northwest had awakened them, the Ducks rallied after nearly three hours of delay. Oregon struck in the resumed third inning against a Hoosier pitching staff that had gone cold during the break, only needing one hit — Luschar's infield single to take a 4-3 lead— to record five runs. Katie Flannery and Paige Sinicki each walked home a run, while Rylee McCoy was hit by a pitch for a hard-earned RBI.

"Oregon is full of rain," McCoy said after Saturday's contest. "We're used to all the delays."

Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi decided to stick with Grein after the delay, who froze Kinsey Mitchell by painting the outside corner for her fifth strikeout of the game to strand a runner on second in the bottom of the third. A single from Kaylynn Jones and a Braiesey Rosa walk gave the Ducks a pair of base runners in the top of the fourth. Luschar dropped down a bunt, and her speed forced Hoosier third baseman Madalyn Strader to pull her throw into right field, allowing both Jones and Rosa to come around and make it 9-3 Ducks. 

A double and a single brought home an Indiana run in the bottom of the frame, but Grein answered with her seventh strikeout to escape the inning before she was relieved by Elise Sokolsky one out in the bottom of the fifth.

Dezianna Patmon led off the sixth inning with a triple off the wall in right before Jones brought her home with a single up the middle. The Hoosiers (30-16, 8-11) put runners on the corners with a pair of singles in the bottom of the inning, but Sokolsky worked out of the jam with her second strikeout before shutting the door with a one-two-three seventh inning to secure the win.

Game 2: Oregon 9, Indiana 1

The Ducks kept their momentum riding into the start of their second game, exploding for six runs in the top of the first inning to quickly send a message to the Hoosiers. Kai Luschar was caught stealing after leading off the game with a single, but Sinicki and Luschar's sister Kedre singled and walked to put two runners on for McCoy, who brought home Sinicki with a single through the middle of the infield.

"It's the pass-the-bat mentality," McCoy said of what allows the Ducks to get so hot so quickly. "We just keep passing the bat. If somebody doesn't get a hit and then it's my turn, I'm like, 'Alright, I've got to pick up my teammates and do whatever I can for the team.'"

Catcher Emma Cox followed by shooting a double into the right field corner to bring two more runs across before Jones singled and Rosa sent a double into the right-center gap to make it 5-0 Ducks.

"I just try to stay simple," Cox said. "Hunt balls that I want to hit."

Just like the middle game of the UCLA series, Lombardi decided to start Grein — who struck out two in a scoreless frame — before giving way to the left-handed Staci Chambers to start the second inning with a lefty due up for the Hoosiers. She conceded a leadoff double before fanning back-to-back batters on pitches in the dirt to finish the inning clean.

"They did a great job passing the ball today," Cox said of the Ducks' pitching staff. "Doing their jobs, taking care of business."

After Chambers walked the first batter of the third on four pitches, Lombardi called on Sokolsky again. A double put runners on second and third, but she escaped the inning with a strikeout and a grounder to her gold glove shortstop Sinicki, who also made a fantastic diving grab to assist Grein in the first.

An error and a single put Kai Luschar and Sinicki on second and third for Kedre Luschar, who beat out an infield single off the foot of Hoosier pitcher Jenae Berry to score her sister. With Sinicki on third, Luschar swiped second before McCoy skied a sacrifice fly to move both runners up 60 feet. A dropped third strike then allowed Luschar to race home, making it 8-0 Ducks.

On the brink of a mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth, a pair of walks put runners on first and second for Sokolsky with one out. Lombardi decided to go back to Grein in the circle, but a double off the bat of catcher Avery Parker brought a run home across to keep the Hoosiers alive.

That wouldn't last long. Grein struck out her third batter of the game to get out of the inning, and in the top of the sixth, McCoy sent a solo shot the other way over the right field fence for her 15th homer of the season, surpassing Jen Salling's 2007 mark for the most by a Duck freshman.

"Honestly, I didn't know it was happening," McCoy said of her record-setting homer. "All my teammates were congratulating me, and I figured out later. So it felt amazing and I'm honestly just so proud of the team and allowing me to be in the position I'm allowed to be in."

"I got a high-outside ball, so I just went with it," she added of the opposite-field homer.

Grein allowed a single in the bottom of the inning, but picked up her fourth and fifth strikeouts before Flannery secured a foul popup at third for the win. 

Game 3: Oregon 9, Indiana 7

Oregon continued to start hot at the plate in its final game of the weekend, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning to quickly set the tone. 

"That started in the fall… We just wanted to make it part of our identity as a team to start fast, no matter who's on the other side," Cox said after Saturday's game. 

Kai Luschar singled up the middle to lead off the game before taking second when her sister Kedre sent a long flyout to foul territory in left field. McCoy followed with a line drive to right that was initially ruled a catch by a diving Mitchell, but was overturned after review, allowing Luschar to score as McCoy was safe with a single.

Cox singled to put runners on first and second for Stefini Ma'ake, who made her return to the lineup after straining her knee in the first game at Minnesota two weeks ago. She chopped a hard-hit grounder up to middle to bring home McCoy before advancing to second as Cox took third when the throw to get McCoy sailed wide of the catcher at home. Patmon followed with a single through the left side to plate Cox and make it 3-0 Ducks in the first.

After Sokolsky ended the first with a runner in scoring position by picking up her first strikeout on a changeup diving out of the zone, Flannery doubled to lead off the top of the second. With two down, Kedre Luschar attacked a 2-1 pitch, pulling it into the right-center gap on a line before racing to third for her team-leading fourth triple of the season to extend Oregon's lead to four.

A two-out single and double to left-center plated a run for the Hoosiers in the bottom of the second, but Sokolsky resettled with a one-two-three third, picking up her third strikeout on another changeup in the dirt — this time needing a heads-up play from Flannery at third for the out after the dropped third strike.

The Luschar sisters singled and walked in the top of the fourth to put a pair on for McCoy, who roped a double down the left field line to bring home a run. Cox followed with Oregon's 11th hit of the game to score another run and extend the Ducks' lead to five. 

Sokolsky cruised through another three-up, three-down frame in the fourth, but with one down in the fifth, Hoosier first baseman Josie Bird tagged her for a solo shot out to left-center. That was followed by a single, and Lombardi decided to call on Grein for her third outing of the weekend. A 10-pitch walk to the first batter put runners two on with one out, but Grein answered with a strikeout before a popup to Jones at second got the Ducks out of the inning.

McCoy's seventh and eighth RBIs of the weekend gave the Ducks a pair of insurance runs after Ayanna Shaw and Kedre Luschar got on with singles. Those runs would quickly prove themselves handy when the game got much closer, as a two-out double, single, and Bird's second homer of the game quickly put a three-spot on the board for the Hoosiers.

After Grein dotted the top of the zone for her second strikeout to get out of the sixth, three straight singles from Jones, Flannery, and Kai Luschar loaded the bases for Shaw to push Oregon's lead back to four with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh.

The Hoosiers weren't yet through with their attempts at a comeback, singling and homering to lead off the bottom of the seventh and cut Oregon's lead back to two runs. Sokolsky re-entered, hitting a batter with her first pitch before a pair of singles loaded the bases with one out. Lombardi made the call to her pen again, this time going with Chambers with a lefty in Strader due up for the Hoosiers. 

After battling to a full count, Chambers forced a weak flyout to Kai Luschar in left to bring up Bird, sitting on two homers on the day. Chambers got ahead 1-2 before burying a breaking ball in the dirt to get Bird to chase over the top for the final out, shutting the door for her first save of the year.

What's next?

The Ducks head to South Bend on Monday for a one-off with Notre Dame (23-29-1, 7-17 ACC) at 2 PM before returning to the Jane next weekend to close out the regular season with their final home series of the year. Oregon will host the Michigan State Spartans (15-27, 5-14) for three games from Friday to Sunday, with first pitch of Game 1 set for 6 PM. The Ducks will then head back to Indiana for the Big Ten Softball Tournament in West Lafayette beginning on May 7th, looking to capture a conference championship in their first season.