Value each pitch. Make the right decision. Get the big hit. Locate your pitches.

Over and over and over.

Every blunder can spark a big inning. Every ugly swing can re-energize your opponent. Every wrong step is one closer to a pivotal blow to your record and resume.

These are the demands that must be met to win in college softball. Demands that No. 5 Oregon softball (45-5, 17-2 Big Ten ) has had little trouble conquering thus far this season, and had no issues doing yet again on Monday in the Ducks’ 10-1 run-rule win over Notre Dame (23 – 30). 

Monday’s game was just as lopsided as the final score would suggest. 

Keyed by Emma Cox’s three-run homer in the first, the Ducks scored five runs before Elise Sokosly even threw a pitch. 

After a second-inning homer from Rachel Allen, Notre Dame didn’t score again and mustered just one more hit. Seven Ducks reached base in a four-run fourth inning, which only helped the final score grow more uneven. 

Kai and Kedre Luschar combined to go 4-7 with four runs scored. Kaylynn Jones extended her hitting streak to five games and raised her batting average to .318. 

Sokolsky and Taylour Spencer combined to dominate the Notre Dame offense, tossing five innings while facing just three batters over the minimum. 

Spencer epitomized the win, striking out five over four innings of work and lowering her ERA to 3.15. She allowed the one homer, but rebounded well to throw 41 of 63 pitches for strikes. 

The Ducks backed their pitchers with a number of superb defensive plays, the biggest coming in the bottom of the third when Kedre Luschar perfectly timed her jump to rob a homer.

Four different Ducks tallied two-or-more hits, with Cox’s homer the lone long ball of the day. 

A Cox RBI single in the fourth helped push the run-rule into effect and helped mercifully end the wildly one-sided contest. 

Oregon played four games over four days in the state of Indiana, outscoring teams 38-13 in the process. 

The Ducks have now won 45 games, the most in the nation. To do so they followed a reliable blueprint — blitzing an opponent’s starting pitcher, throwing up zero’s and relying on strong defense to guide them to stress-free wins. 

The Ducks dominated their last nonconference matchup of the regular season. They’ll now set their sights on clinching the Big Ten regular season title next weekend against Michigan State at Jane Sanders Stadium.

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