Oregon softball splits Sunday double-header with Washington, takes first Big Ten series win

SEATTLE, Wash. — Following a second-inning rainout on Saturday, the No. 8 Oregon Ducks got to play two on Sunday, splitting a quasi-doubleheader with the Washington Huskies to secure their first Big Ten series win. The Ducks rode more hot-hitting from Katie Flannery to a win in game one before falling to the Huskies in the final game of the series.

"To come here and get the series, that's huge for us," head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "We wanted to get that big time, and they're a really good team."

Game 1: Oregon 5, Washington 2

After a rain delay, the Ducks' second game against the Huskies was postponed after just an inning on Saturday. Play resumed on Sunday, with Oregon (26-3, 2-1) coming through to secure their first ever Big Ten series victory. Flannery — who crushed two home runs on Friday — continued to mash, driving home four of the Ducks' five runs to extend her team lead.

Both Washington starter Stevie Hansen — a Duck transfer — and Oregon starter Elise Sokolsky tossed a clean first inning on Saturday before rain settled in, delaying the rest of the game until Sunday.

When things started back up, Kedre Luschar was facing a full count and took the first pitch she saw on Sunday for a ball to give the Ducks their first base runner against their former teammate. Dezianna Patmon followed with a walk of her own, but Hansen fanned Stefini Ma'ake and Braiesey Rosa to get out of the restarted second inning.

After a one-two-three bottom of the frame from Sokolsky, Kaylynn Jones flew out to lead off the third before Oregon recorded four straight hits to bring home three runs. Singles from Kai Luschar and Paige Sinicki put two on for Flannery, who smacked a double off the bottom of the wall in right-center to bring home both runners. One pitch later, McCoy hit her own double nearly to the same spot as Flannery, scoring her from second to make it 3-0 Ducks. 

"She's just elevated her level at the plate," Lombardi said of Flannery.

"I'm building off last year," the sophomore third baseman said. "Then the summer, the winter, going home, going to work, it doesn't stop."

Sokolsky put a runner on with a walk in the bottom of the third but worked around it, forcing Ava Carroll to ground out to Jones at second. She finally allowed her first hit the next inning when Alexis DeBoer sent the first pitch back up the middle for a single. Sophi Mazzola grounded into a fielder's choice before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch, giving the Huskies their first runner in scoring position. Sokolsky wouldn't let it affect her, striking out Alycia Flores before getting a grounder to Sinicki to work out of the inning.

After Sinicki dropped down a perfect bunt single to lead off the fifth, Flannery crushed a towering home run over the fence in left field to extend the Oregon lead to five runs. The homer gave Flannery her eighth and ninth RBIs of the weekend as she leads the Ducks with 32 runs driven in this season.

"It feels good," Flannery said of her recent success at the plate. "You want to stay hot when you're doing well, but just being able to produce for my team, it's important for me."

With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Gabi Toney singled through the left side of the infield before Jaydn Glab sent a home run out to center field to cut into Oregon's lead. Caroll would single as the next batter, and Lombardi decided to go to her bullpen, calling on Lyndsey Grein to relieve Sokolsky. It only took her one pitch to get out of the inning as DeBoer grounded the first pitch to Flannery, who threw over to first to end the fifth.

Grein would finish things off from there, sitting down the final six Huskies in order over the final two frames, striking out three for her third save of the season.

"We can win in many ways," Lombardi said of her team. "We can win with our speed, we can win with the deep long ball, we can win with our short game, and it's important. The game is gonna ask us to win in different ways all year."

Game 2: Washington 4, Oregon 3

After securing the series win in their first game on Sunday, the Ducks weren't able to pull off the sweep against the rival Huskies, falling in the final game of the series. Despite out-hitting Washington nine to seven, Oregon left seven runners stranded while only recording one extra-base hit.

"We out-hit them and still lost the game; sometimes that's just softball," Kai Luschar said. "We played a great game, we were really gritty. That's what you want to see, so I think we win that game nine times out of ten."

This time, it was the Huskies who struck first, taking their first lead of the series in the bottom of the first inning. Taylour Spencer got the start for the Ducks but struggled with her command, walking Glab and DeBoer before Mazzola pulled a single into right field to plate a run. A terrific line-drive snag by Flannery gave Spencer the second out, but that was followed with another walk to load the bases. Lombardi decided she had seen enough and called on Grein, who struck out Riley Pescher to leave the bases loaded.

After Husky starter Sophia Ramuno struck out a pair in a one-two-three second, Jade Bubke tagged Grein for her first home run allowed this season to make it 2-0. As the Washington lineup turned back over, Glab sent a single up the middle, but Grein fanned Carroll before freezing DeBoer to end the inning. 

Oregon put two on in the top of the third with singles from Rosa and Jones but wasn't able to bring either of them home as Kai Luschar grounded into a fielder's choice before Sinicki lined out and Flannery struck out. 

Grein cruised through the third and fourth innings, sitting all six Huskies down in order. She got Glab to fly out to right for the first out of the third, but on a 2-2 count, Carroll extended across the plate to get her barrel to a Grein heater to extend the Washington lead. 

Morgan Reimer plunked Sinicki to lead off the sixth before Flannery drove a line drive into left field for a single. McCoy grounded to third, but reached safely as Husky third baseman Jing Gardner made the heads up play, stepping on the base to get the lead runner Sinicki. Kedre Luschar followed with a single up the middle to load the bases for Patmon, who, on a full count, obliterated a ball deep down the left field line that just barely hooked foul before she was frozen for a strikeout to bring up Ma'ake.

Down three runs and with only four more outs to work with, it was a do-or-die situation for Oregon, needing Ma'ake — who hadn't recorded a hit in her last seven games — to come through. She did just that on the first, scorching a line drive back up the middle that Mazzola dove for in center field, allowing all three runners to come across and tie the game as Ma'ake slid into second. 

"I just took a really big deep breath and let my mechanics do the job," Ma'ake said. "Just know that no pitcher's gonna beat me and to hit the ball hard and forward, which I did. I didn't know I hit it that hard until everybody was like, 'You almost killed the pitcher.'"

Grein quickly got the first two outs of the sixth on just four pitches, but the bottom of the Washington lineup would do her in, singling three straight times to retake the lead. Sokolsky entered to relieve her, striking out the only batter she faced.

Just two pitches into the seventh and final inning, Oregon was down to its final out after grounders from Jones and Kai Luschar. Behind 0-2, Sinicki sent a double into the left-center gap to give the Ducks a much-needed base runner before Flannery walked to bring up McCoy. She quickly fell in the count but battled to foul off multiple pitches, staying alive before finally putting a ball in play straight back to the circle to end the game.

Having wrapped up its first conference series of the season, Oregon will play a one-off at 3 PM on Monday against Seattle University before the Illinois Fighting Illini will pay a visit to Eugene next weekend.