Oregon bats come alive as Ducks plate 22 in win over Abilene Christian

EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 12 Oregon Ducks needed clutch pitching and timely hitting from catcher Braiesey Rosa to beat the Abilene Christian Wildcats in the second half of Sunday's doubleheader, but on Monday morning, the game was over before it could ever get that interesting, as Oregon coasted to a 22-4 win in just five innings. The Ducks exploded for 15 runs in the bottom of the first inning to tie a school record before adding six more in the third to balloon their total over 20.

Oregon (24-2) tallied its 22 runs on just 15 hits, also reaching base on seven walks, four hit-by-pitches, and two Wildcat errors. Paige Sinicki led the way to a record-tying 20 RBIs with a career-high seven, followed by five from Kedre Luschar — who extended her hitting streak to 13 games — and four by Katie Flannery.

"I think it allowed them today to just get back to what they have been doing," head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of her team's offensive explosion. "I think we got away a little bit from ourselves this weekend and even the weekend before, and I think it allowed them to kind of just get back to them. So it was good, we needed today."

After a two-out single brought home a pair of runs against Oregon starter Taylour Spencer in the top of the first, the Duck offense quickly answered to retake the lead. A walk and a hit-by-pitch put Kai Luschar and Sinicki on for Flannery, who sent her fourth home run of the season out to center field to make it 3-2 Ducks. Patmon walked before Kedre Luschar and Braiesey Rosa sent a triple and a double down the left field line to bring home two more runs. 

"It's fun, we're all having a good time," Flannery said. "Seeing other people succeed is the best part."

Another hit-by-pitch and two more singles loaded the bases for Sinicki's second at-bat of the inning, where she would clear them with a grand slam over the center field wall. Three batters later, Kedre Luschar hit her second triple of the inning to score two more runs before coming home on a wild pitch. The Ducks would add two more runs on a pair of Wildcat errors before Sinicki finally grounded out in her third time up to end the first inning.

"I think about our offense and what they've been doing all year," Lombardi said. "They've been putting runs on the board early and it definitely gives our pitchers an opportunity to settle in and not feel like they have to place the ball in a certain spot, they can just relax and do their thing. I think we're best when our offense and defense bounce back and forth off of each other."

Even working with a now 13-run lead, Spencer continued to struggle in the second, allowing a double, a walk, and another double before Elise Sokolsky came in to relieve her. Sokolsky would get Oregon out of the inning, but not before conceding a single to bring home another earned run for Spencer, bringing her to four in just 1 ⅓ innings. 

A Flannery leadoff triple and a single from Patmon plated another run in the bottom of the second before Sokolsky fanned the side in the third. After Elyse Kresho flew out to lead off the bottom of the frame, Oregon loaded the bases for Sinicki again, who this time came through with a double to left to clear them. Flannery singled to score Sinicki before Kedre Luschar drove home two more runs with a double, pushing the Ducks' lead to 18 with her third extra-base hit of the game.

"I think we needed that going into next weekend," Sinicki said of Oregon's 22-run outburst. "It was good just to be able to pass our bats and get the energy flowing for this next weekend. That's Duck softball right there, so being able to stick to our process and getting back to what we've been doing all season, it felt really good."

Sokolsky retired the side in order in the top of the fourth, recording her fourth strikeout, before Oregon was finally held scoreless in the bottom of the frame, only reaching base on a Remmington Hewitt walk. Sokolsky surrendered a single in the fifth but Sinicki and Kaylynn Jones combined to make quick work of the runner with a double play before Sokolsky fanned the final batter to close out the win.

"One thing this team has always been really good at is responding," Lombardi said. "We walked away yesterday really not liking some things that we did and wanting to do things a little different today. So anytime you have a team that responds, that's a really good sign, so I was just pleased that they did that."

Next weekend, the Ducks take a trip up I-5 to visit the Washington Huskies in Seattle for their first conference series as members of the Big Ten. A year ago, Oregon took two-out-of-three from a top 10 ranked Husky team in Eugene, and this year, Washington will be looking to do the same to the Ducks in front of their home fans. The teams missed each other both at the Littlewood and Mary Nutter Collegiate Classics, where the Ducks went 10-1 and the Huskies went 6-4.