Oregon's magical Women's College World Series run ends with loss to Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — After an incredible year that saw head coach Melyssa Lombardi conquer a number of firsts in her tenure, the No. 16 Oregon Ducks' season came to an end on Sunday evening at the hands of her alma mater.

With elimination on the line in the Women's College World Series, the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners rode a pair of home runs by first baseman Cydney Sanders to a 4-1 win, sending Oregon home for the second year in a row as they will now look to capture a fifth-straight national championship.

"They left a blueprint for teams to come," Lombardi said of her Ducks. "It's not about how to come to the World Series and win a national championship. It's about how to be a group of people that know how to love each other to the absolute fullest and praise each other to the absolute fullest, and for us all to see our potential."

Oregon (54-10) went quickly in the top of the first as lefty Kierston Deal struck out Kai Luschar to lead off the game before a pair of popups ended the inning. When the Sooners (52-8) came to the plate in the bottom of the frame, they got after Duck starter Elise Sokolsky in a hurry with a pair of singles and a stolen base to put two in scoring position before an out could be recorded.

After catching a popup for the first out, second baseman Kaylynn Jones dove to snare a sinking line drive roped off the bat of Gabbie Garcia for the second with the infield playing in, saving at least one from coming home to score. With two down, Sokolsky walked Nelly McEnroe-Marinas to load the bases, but a popup to third baseman Katie Flannery ended the inning to strand the runners.

Deal continued to work her riseball nicely to start the top of the second, getting Paige Sinicki to fly out before fanning Emma Cox. But that brought Dezianna Patmon to the plate, who crushed the second offering from Deal to straightaway center field to give the Ducks an early lead. 

That wouldn't last long. With one down in the bottom of the frame, Sooner catcher Isabela Emerling took Sokolsky deep to left, tying the game at one run apiece. After a groundout flipped the Oklahoma lineup back to the top, Kasidy Pickering and Ella Parker singled back-to-back to put runners on the corners just like the first. But Sokolsky held strong again, freezing Sydney Barker with a changeup for her first strikeout to escape the inning.

Flannery and Kai Luschar led off the bottom of the third with singles to give the Ducks a pair of baserunners. Kedre Luschar sent a blooper towards short, but Garcia made a fantastic play, tracking the ball over her shoulder before making the catch and doubling up Flannery's pinch runner, Regan Legg, who was leading too far off the base.

Kai Luschar swiped her 60th bag of the season to break the Big Ten single-season record and put a runner in scoring position for McCoy, who walked to prompt an Oklahoma pitching change. Sam Landry — the Sooners' starter in the first two games of the WCWS— entered for Deal, striking out Sinicki to end the inning and hold the tie. 

"That at-bat, she threw me three changeups in a row, and it definitely got me," Sinicki said of her first strikeout at the plate since mid-April. "For our whole team, it was just the change of speeds that she was mixing really well that we had to pick one or the other, and just couldn't seem to get it."

After Oklahoma's swap in the circle, Lombardi decided to make a move of her own, going with Lyndsey Grein to begin the third. Coming off a career-high 144-pitch, 9 ⅓ inning performance to get the Ducks past Ole Miss, Grein struck out Garcia to lead off the inning, but surrendered a single to McEnroe-Marinas before leaving a changeup hanging at the top of the zone that Sanders turned on, sending it out to left to take a 3-1 lead. An error by Flannery and a hit-by-pitch put two more runners on before a flyout to foul territory on Grein's 39th pitch finally ended the inning. 

"I thought Lyndsey was amazing and I thought she found the zone all night long," Lombardi said of Grein. "They're a great hitting team. They foul pitches off and make you work."

Jones beat a two-out infield single for her fifth hit of the WCWS, but was left stranded to bring the Sooners back up. After her lengthy third inning surrendered the lead, Grein bounced back with a one-two-three bottom of the fourth to try to find her rhythm.

But as Grein dialed in, so did Landry, retiring the side in order in the top of the fifth with some help from McEnroe-Marinas, who made a pair of incredible back-to-back plays charging in from third to beat the Luschar sisters hustling down the line.

Grein froze McEnroe-Marinas in a full count for her third strikeout, but the Sooners continued to stay patient at the plate and work long at-bats. Sanders came back to the plate, working Grein to another full count before demolishing her second home run of the game well over the left-field wall to extend the Oklahoma lead in the bottom of the fifth. 

"When you're at this point in the season, everybody's good," Kedre Luschar said. "You're gonna have those strikeouts because pitching is good, you're gonna have those home runs because hitters are good, it's a battle."

Landry left Sinicki stranded in scoring position after she bunted her way to first and swiped second before Grein sat the Sooners down with a one-two-three bottom of the sixth, giving her offense one more chance to keep their season alive.

Jones whiffed at a changeup from Landry before Ayanna Shaw pinch hit for Ma'ake, grounding to second on the first pitch to bring Flannery to the plate. She battled to even the count at 2-2, but Landry buried an off-speed offering to her back foot as she whiffed over the top to end the game, and Oregon's 2025 season.

It was a fantastic year for the Ducks, one that saw them accomplish numerous things that hadn't been done since former head coach Mike White left for Texas in 2018, including a conference championship, hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and not only reaching the WCWS, but winning a game over Ole Miss on Friday.

"I've been doing this for a long time, and sometimes you've got to go through a little pain to get what you want," Lombardi said. "I think our seniors, they left it out there. They did everything possible, and their tears are of joy. But I think about Lynsdey [Grein] and our returners and what this has done for them. This year has changed their life."

The losses of the Luschar sisters and Sinicki, who have been staples of this program for the last four years, will hurt, along with transfer standouts Patmon and left-handed pitcher Staci Chambers. But with a pair of aces set to return in Grein and Sokolsky and a young core of hitters powered by a quartet of freshmen, Lombardi will have her Ducks here again. 

"If you're not investing in Melyssa Lombardi, then you're not paying attention," legendary Sooner coach and her longtime mentor Patty Gasso told the media after the game. "She's one of the best out there, and there's no question about that."