Oregon softball walked off by UCLA in opening game of Women's College World Series

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oregon's first Women's College World Series game in seven years ended in heartbreak on Thursday night. The No. 16 Ducks had taken an early lead against No. 9 UCLA in the nightcap to the quadruple header that kicked off the WCWS at Devon Park before a two-run homer gave the Bruins the lead back. 

Down to their final three outs, Oregon tied the game in the seventh. But two weeks after Dezianna Patmon crushed a walk-off home run to send the Ducks to the super regionals, they were on the wrong side when UCLA's Jessica Clements sent a two-run homer over the center field fence to give the Bruins the 4-2 win. 

"It was a total pitchers' duel," Lombardi said after the game. "I just look at two swings that are the difference." 

Kaitlyn Terry got the start in the circle for the Bruins, having given up three earned runs in two frames against the Ducks back in April. That didn't faze her in the top of the first, though, needing four outs to silence Oregon's bats after a dropped third strike put Rylee McCoy on first after she chased a fastball above the zone. 

The game had been delayed due to rain that pushed back the start of Texas Tech and Ole Miss earlier in the afternoon, and when Lyndsey Grein took the circle for the Ducks in the bottom of the first, the lights at Devon Field went out twice as the stadium had been set to shut off at 10 PM. After the issue was resolved, Savannah Pola beat out a swinging bunt before Big Ten home run leader Megan Grant walked on four pitches to put two on with two out for the Bruins, but Grein forced a grounder to Katie Flannery, who stepped on third to end the inning. 

Terry continued to look comfortable in the second, fanning Dezianna Patmon on an off-speed pitch at the bottom of the zone to start the inning and Stefini Ma'ake on a heater at the top of the zone to end it. But Grein would match her, fanning Sofia Mujica for her first strikeout to end a one-two-three bottom of the frame. 

Kaylynn Jones led off the top of the third for the Ducks, showing off the speed that helped her swipe 16 bases this season to beat out an infield single for Oregon's first hit of the game. After a sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved Jones to third, Kedre Luschar drove the first pitch she saw through the right side to break the scoreless tie. 

Terry reset in the fourth after giving up the lead the previous inning, retiring the Ducks in order on three straight groundouts. When UCLA came back to the plate in the bottom of the frame.

Jordan Woolery ripped a first-pitch single to left, continuing the hot streak she has ridden since walking off South Carolina in the Bruins' second super regional game. Grein got the ever-dangerous Grant to pop out to foul territory before a grounder gave her the second out of the inning, but in a 2-2 count, UCLA backstop Alexis Ramirez got all of Grein's heater at the top of the zone, pulling it into the left-field bleachers to put the Bruins ahead 2-1. 

"I'm proud of her fight," Lombardi said of Grein's effort. "It's tough to be on the other end of it, but we've been here before, and we have that experience. These guys do a great job of putting it away and being ready to go for tomorrow. So I'm looking forward to seeing her and her teammates back on the field, ready to compete." 

With one down in the top of the fifth, Jones slapped her second hit of the game to left, but when she tried to swipe second and give the Ducks a runner in scoring position, Ramirez gunned her down from behind the dish to end the inning. 

Woolery singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth before Grant drew a full-count walk, ending Grein's night as Elise Sokolsky entered in relief. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, but after Sokolsky struck out Ramirez, Oregon catcher Emma Cox threw down to first to catch the pinch runner Rylee Pinedo leading off second, where Jones would make the heads-up play to throw home as Woolery bolted for the plate. Cox made a nice catch at home before throwing down to third, where Flannery tagged out Woolery to end the inning. 

Sinicki came to the plate to lead off for the Ducks down to their final three outs in the top of the seventh. She quickly ripped a double just fair down the line before Patmon dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move her over to third. Cox followed by grounding to third as Sinicki raced to the plate, where, after a review, obstruction was called to tie the game. 

Sokolsky came back out to the circle in the bottom of the frame, looking to extend the game to extras to give her offense the chance to win it. With one down, Mujica singled to put the winning run on base before Terry popped up for the second out to flip the lineup back over to Clements at the top. She fouled off the first pitch from Sokolsky before driving the second deep to center for a two-run homer to walk off the Ducks. 

"Today, we didn't see as much of the type of game that we play," Sinicki said. "But looking forward, I know all of us want to keep and continue to play games with each other, so I think you're gonna see that type of fight show up every day." 

What's next for the Ducks?

Having lost their first game of the double-elimination tournament, Oregon will take on Ole Miss at 6:30 PM on Friday. The Rebels fell 1-0 to No. 12 Texas Tech earlier on Thursday, as their bats were shut down by a two-hit, complete game by NiJaree Canady. Both teams will be on the brink of elimination, looking to keep their season alive to play again at 4 PM on Sunday. 

"The future might not look perfect," Grein said. "But it also could work out really well for the Ducks, and I think it will."