No. 6 Oregon softball blown out by No. 5 UCLA to even series

EUGENE, Ore. — With six runs in the sixth inning of Saturday's game two, the No. 5 UCLA Bruins quickly turned what had been a close game into a blowout, evening their series with the No. 6 Oregon Ducks at one game apiece. After a Bruin two-spot in the third represented the game's only runs for the first five innings, everything changed in the sixth when, with two outs, a bases-clearing double by third baseman Jordan Woolery and a three-run shot off the bat of shortstop Kinaya Bragg brought six runs across to bring the mercy-rule into play.

"I don't think we played well enough today in any area to come and get that win," Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said after the game. "It took us too long to try to make an adjustment at the plate, I think we only had two hits going into the sixth. I liked some of the pitching handoffs that we did, but I thought as it got deeper in the game, we were not commanding the zone and working ahead. We were working behind and then let too many big hits."

Oregon's Lyndsey Grein got the start for the second straight game and quickly fell behind to UCLA leadoff hitter Jessica Clements 3-0 before dialing back in, hammering back-to-back strikes to push the count to full before dotting the corner to catch Clements looking to begin the game for the second day in a row. She followed with another looking strikeout before a flyout to Kai Luschar in left retired the side in order.

Kedre Luschar gave Oregon its first base runner much earlier than Friday's contest with a one-out infield single in the bottom of the first, but after stealing second and advancing to third, was left stranded when catcher Emma Cox grounded back to the circle. With Grein coming off a 5 ⅓-inning shutout performance against the Bruins the previous night, Lombardi decided to go to her bullpen early, bringing in her lefty, Staci Chambers, to face the most dangerous left-handed hitter in the Bruins lineup, Megan Grant, to lead off the second.

After forcing a foul popup to Cox behind the plate to get Grant, Chambers surrendered a pair of hard-hit singles that put runners on the corners with two outs. Through the Bruins' most dangerous run of lefties, Lombardi decided to make another call to the bullpen, going with Elise Sokolsky, who earned the save in game one. She would force a flyout to center just four pitches later to escape the jam unscathed.

Sokolsky came back out for third after a scoreless bottom of the second for Oregon's offense and quickly found herself in trouble. A walk and a rare error by shortstop Paige Sinicki put a pair of runners on with no outs before a sacrifice bunt moved them both into scoring position for Woolery, who plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center. After Lombardi decided to intentionally walk Grant, a wild-pitch ball four to Bragg brought home Clements fromthird. Sokolsky would get a flyout to end the inning, but the damage had already been dealt with UCLA striking for a pair of runs without even recording a hit.

"I just thought she needs to tighten things up a little bit," Lombardi said of Sokolsky. "I thought we were too up and down with the counts instead of getting ahead and putting people away."

Meanwhile, Bruin starter Addisen Fisher was carving through the Oregon lineup, sitting six straight Ducks down between the third and fourth innings.

"She pitched well and just kept getting us to ground out," Lombardi said of Fisher's shutout performance. "We kept making the same type of outs and not making the adjustment as soon as we needed to."

Sokolsky found herself in a jam once again in the top of the fifth as a single from Woolery and a double from Grant put two in scoring position with one out. When Bragg sent a grounder towards Flannery at third, she made the heads-up play to tag the runner leading off the base, which would be correctly overturned to an out after a replay review. With two runners still on, Sokolsky received some more help from her defense when Kai Luschar fully extended to make a diving catch in foul territory to end the inning.

Sokolsky couldn't hold off the Bruin offense forever, though, and needed some help from her offense, which hadn't put a runner on base since the second inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Dezianna Patmon led off with a line drive into left and took second as UCLA left fielder Rylee Slimp let the ball slip under her glove and roll to the wall. Patmon was pinch-run for by Regan Legg, but the Ducks would ground out three straight times to strand her at third.

After Sokolsky quickly recorded the first two outs in the sixth, everything fell apart.

Back-to-back singles would end her day as Taylour Spencer entered in relief. She walked the first batter she faced to load the bases before Woolery would clear them with a rocket into the left-center gap. Lombardi decided to intentionally walk Grant once again, but her protection in the order would make the Ducks pay for the decision as Bragg clubbed a first-pitch three-run homer out to left, pushing the UCLA lead to eight.

The Ducks needed a run in the bottom of the sixth to avoid the mercy rule, but after Kai Luschar led off the inning with a single and a swipe, Fisher recorded three straight outs to crush any hope Oregon had left.

"I don't really like how we played today," Lombardi said. "I know our team doesn't like how we played today, so what's nice is that we get one more opportunity tomorrow."

Now tied at one game apiece, the series will continue on Sunday when the Ducks and Bruins meet for the third and final game, with the winner taking the lead in the Big Ten standings. First pitch from Jane Sanders Stadium is set for 1 PM.