Sometimes, there will be a dominant showing from the pitching staff.

Other times, a one-woman show, or an opponent’s blunder pushes No. 19 Oregon (12-1) over the top.

Oregon’s (2-0) win over Utah (4-8) Friday afternoon at the Mary Nutter Classic was far from perfect. But with the way Lydnsey Grein is pitching of late, perfection is far from needed. 

The Utes joined in on the prevailing sentiment of frustration for teams facing Grein, who has now tossed 15 consecutive scoreless frames. 

Taylour Spencer retired the first six batters for the Ducks — two by strikeout — in the first two innings. The bullpen more than rewarded her efforts, as Grein (8-0) worked five scoreless innings in relief and fired 41 of her 66 pitches for strikes.

The only cushion Oregon would need was provided in the second and third innings when Rylee McCoy and Katie Flannery both blasted solo home runs. 

After adding the two early runs, the Ducks (0-8 with runners in scoring position) left runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, with Grein and a strong defensive effort helping thread a remarkably thin needle yet again. 

The Ducks backed their pitchers with several superb defensive plays, the biggest coming in the fourth inning as Emma Cox picked off a runner at first for the second day in a row. 

The two runs were more than enough against a Utes’ offense (two hits) that had no answer for the Oregon arms.

The Utes’ leadoff hitters added their team’s only pair of hits, but Utah struggled to offer any other offensive fight.

And for the surging Ducks — whose lone loss on the season came in extra innings — the late frames were once against closeout time. Grein faced just two batters over the minimum — one of whom reached by a seventh-inning error —  in another remarkable outing. 

Oregon will take on San Diego State in its second game of the day at 1 p.m.

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The curse of the college softball nonconference slate is that it’s a weeks-long slog from city to city. From hotel rooms and random stadiums, opposing scouting reports bleed into one another in what can create an unrecognizable blur as games mount on top of each other. 

The gift of that schedule are the tests, the moments of competition when a team can take an honest look at what it is and what it isn’t against worthy opposition.

Thursday afternoon, in Oregon’s (12-1) breathless 1-0 win over Tennessee (10-2), the Ducks were given a gift.

Playing a No. 6 ranked Lady Vols’ team that showed the skill, pitching and athleticism of the best in the country, the Ducks got a chance to fight a team above them in the rankings. It was a fight they eventually won, with Kedre Luschar scoring the game’s lone run on a passed ball. 

The ensuing contest between Big Ten and SEC teams was more slowtime than showtime, but some small ball and Luschar’s timely running helped get the win. 

Before Oregon’s contingent of fans cheered after the team’s 2-0 showing at the Mary Nutter Classic, Oregon had plenty of chances to finally break through. 

With her team up in the bottom of the sixth, Dez Patmon added her team’s first hit of the day and stole a pair of bases. Patmon was on third with no one out, but a pop-out followed by a pair of strikeouts ended the threat. 

The story of the game for Oregon was once again Lydnsey Grein who lowered her microscopic ERA to 1.16 and fired 3.1 innings of scoreless ball out of the bullpen. 

In the circle, Grein and Oregon avoided its first bit of trouble in the fifth when the right-hander recorded a clutch strikeout with the bases loaded and two outs. More tightroping out of danger was necessary in the sixth when Tennessee’s Laura Mealer walked and stole second. But, once again, Grein was nails, retiring the next pair of batters with Mealer on second. 

Karlyn Pickens was the primary protagonist for the Lady Vols, firing 7.1 innings of one-hit ball. She struck out 12 Ducks who really had no chance throughout. Pickens allowed just five baserunners on the day, the lone run scored was an automatic runner.

More clutch pitching was needed for Oregon in the bottom of the eighth as Grein retired the ensuing three batters that came up with the automatic runner placed on second. 

Finally, after Patmon and Katie Flannery were intentionally walked, Luschar scored on the passed ball, securing one of Oregon’s biggest wins in years. 

After enjoying a signature win over a nationally lauded team, Oregon will enjoy the rest of its evening before taking on Utah Friday at 10:30 a.m. 

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As Oregon  (20-9, 9-7  Big Ten) surged into a 14-point lead Wednesday, it looked as if the Ducks would make it a nightlong celebration of their improved play and soon-to-be three-game winning streak. 

With some inspired play in the early minutes of their 94-90 overtime loss to Nebraska (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten), Oregon played suffocating defense. It shut down the Cornhuskers’ best player, holding Alex Markowski  to just 11 points on 4-12 shooting at the game’s midpoint. 

Markowski would finish with an astounding 35 to lead all scorers while also adding 15 rebounds.

Even with some slippage in the final minutes before halftime leaving both teams separated by just a point, the Ducks could feel good about their effort knowing that continued strong play would likely result in a victory. 

What happened next in Lincoln left a sentiment of a different sort. A fourth-quarter collapse might have qualified as the Ducks’ most deflating loss of the year.

What started so well for Oregon couldn’t have ended any worse. After playing a strong half and shooting a remarkable 57% and forcing six turnovers in a 28-point third quarter, Oregon fell apart down the stretch. 

The Ducks were up by eight when Kelly wildly missed a driving layup, with Nebraska hitting a 3-pointer down the other end of the court — the string of plays perfectly encapsulating the possible collapse at hand. 

With under a minute to go, both teams traded 3-pointers to send the game to overtime where Nani Falatea missed a game-tying shot from deep with 16 seconds remaining in overtime. 

Deja Kelly tallied 22 points, and Phillipina Kyei and Falatea recorded 16 and 20-point performances, respectively, for the Ducks, who led by 10 with 10 minutes remaining.

There wasn’t much else to praise after a loss that will certainly hurt the Ducks’ NCAA tournament chances. A night that seemed destined for a resounding win ended in disaster for Oregon.

Fouls, sloppy play and missed free throws were all culprits for the Ducks, who shot 66% from the line and turned the ball over 12 times.  

Led by Markowski, Nebraska stormed back into the game and tied the contest on her 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. Oregon called timeout and drew up a clean look, but Peyton Scott’s  3-pointer was off the mark, and sent the game to overtime. 

Still fighting, Oregon got some luck on a jump ball going their way with 28 seconds remaining before Falatea’s game-tying shot was off the mark. Nebraska won the ensuing free-throw battle leaving Oregon to examine what went wrong. 

Nebraska shot 15-29 from 3-point range and showcased impressive shot-making all night, a skill that proved to be the difference. The Cornhuskers also grabbed 49 rebounds to just 32 of Oregon and grabbed 18 offensive boards. 

The Ducks will return home, taking on Rutgers (10-16, 2-13 Big Ten) on Sunday’s senior day. 

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Lyndsey Grein is starting to become one of the high-quality pitchers head coach Melyssa Lombardi loves to have at Oregon; that much was evident in Oregon’s (9-1) 4-1 win over Belmont (5-5). 

The type of pitcher who needs minimal run support to secure a win.

The type of pitcher who can eat innings with will. 

And most importantly, the type of pitcher that when she ascends the circle, her team will be in a position to win nearly every time.  

Wednesday was indeed another of those outings for Grein, with the right-hander dazzling in a 5.2-inning start to guide the Ducks past the Bruins on the final day of Oregon’s six-game weekend.

The reason for Grein’s success wasn’t hard to determine. Her offspeed was dizzying, downright disgusting and effective all day — she ended the first, second, fourth and fifth innings with strikeouts and finished with 12 on the day. 

On a day when Oregon’s offense was uncharacteristically quiet, Grein provided her team with plenty of punch, guiding the Ducks to a stress-free win. 

Following up on her prior success — she entered with a 2.05 ERA — Grein dotted her pitches well, missing bats with ease while throwing 65 of her 99 pitches for strikes. 

An early two-run blast from Emma Cox — whose batting average now rests at .438 —  would give Grein all the run support she would need. Oregon extended its lead in the third and fourth innings with a single from Stefani Ma’ake and a solo shot from Rylee McCoy. 

Cox and McCoy have been two early catalysts for the Ducks, with both freshmen adding power and quality at-bats in the middle of the order. Paige Sinicki and Kai Luschar both tallied stolen bases, continuing to show their veteran savvy at the dish and on the basepaths. 

But it was Grein’s outing that was the story of the day, with the junior showing just how dominant she can be in the circle.  

Oregon will ride its five-game winning streak into a showdown with Cal on Thursday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. 

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The Ducks thought they found a spark during their opening weekend blowout wins. After a one-run loss yesterday, they effectively relit a raging offense in a 9-0 win over North Dakota (3–3). 

In their first victorious encore to a successful opening week in Las Vegas, Oregon softball (6-1) flocked to Arizona and dismantled another overmatched opponent.

“Start fast, stay fast, finish fast,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said earlier this week after practice.

The Ducks did all three of those things well, using small ball — they stole five bases and walked eight times on the day — to get out in front early before its powerful offense pushed things far out of reach. 

Paige Sinicki, Stefani Ma’ake and Rylee McCoy all blasted home runs in the win. Oregon silenced any potential Fighting Hawk comeback by hanging a six-spot in the fifth inning and extending its lead to nine. 

It was another underwhelming opponent, but the offensive output from Oregon can’t be ignored. The Ducks have secured all but one of their wins by seven-or-more runs. 

Underpinning the win was a lights-out pitching performance from Taylour Spencer, who faced the minimum through her four hitless innings of work. 

Spencer changed speeds well, pounded the zone — she threw 38 of 56 pitches for strikes —  and her lone allowed baserunner of the day was thrown out by Emma Cox (1-1 with two walks and a double).

Kai Luschar stole four bases and walked three times in the win. Ma’ake (1-3, two RBI’s) and Cox in particular look to be significant contributors going forward, with both freshmen making an impact and hitting at the three and four spots in the lineup respectively. 

Cox opened the ambush in the fifth, doubling down the left-field line before Ma’ake powered her home with a long homer over the scoreboard. More runs came on knocks from Sinicki and Kaylynn Jones as well as McCoy’s second homer as a Duck.

Oregon will head into a 12:30 matchup with Weber State (3-3) in high form. All seven Ducks that added a hit scored a run allowing Lombardi to substitute freely in the late innings of the game clearly out of reach. 

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Oregon men’s tennis (5-2) picked up its 3rd consecutive win with a win over UTSA in a 6-1 rout of the UTSA Roadrunners (2-2).

“Early and often” was the clear theme of the day for the Ducks as they handed UTSA (2-2)  its second loss in the young season. 

Oregon came roaring out of the gate. The dynamic duo of Lenn Luemkemann and Matthew Burton breezed past UTSA’s pair 6-1 and Clement Lemire and Paris Poutacha echoed a similar sentiment, winning their set 6-3. With the two commanding wins a 4-4 match between Vlad Breazu and Lachlan Robertson of Oregon remained unfinished. 

With a 1-0 lead, Oregon kept applying the pressure with quick singles wins by Clement Lemire (6-2,6-0) and Lenn Luemkemann (6-3, 6-0)

Luemkemann was particularly impressive on the day, dominating his opponent, Tiago Torres in the first spot. 

The crowd felt the energy shift, as the Ducks seized the momentum going into singles play, the momentum at the STC only shifted towards the home team. 

The brief hiatus between singles and doubles did nothing to slow down Oregon’s barrage of UTSA. Oregon needed just one more singles win to secure a stress-free win which Zian Vanderstappen secured in two sets despite fighting through serving issues. 

Vanderstappen let out a roar that echoed throughout the center, sending his teammates rushing towards him. He shut down the remaining matches, and fans and family erupted in the crowd.

UTSA battled well and was in the remaining sets on the court, but Oregon’s dominance throughout rendered that a moot point. 

Start to finish, Oregon was all over UTSA, winning all four points in the match in under two hours. 

Oregon has now won all 11 of its sets over the past two matches.

The Ducks will look to improve upon their undefeated home record against New Mexico this Friday at 5 p.m.

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Days after head coach Dana Altman’s Ducks (16-7, 5-7 Big Ten) fell out of the top-25, they might have seen their season bottom out Wednesday evening with a 80-76 loss to No. 24 Michigan (17-5, 9-2 Big Ten) at the Crisler Center.

A sputtering offense that got only six points from its bench combined with a struggling defense spelled doom for Oregon. If a fourth consecutive loss following a tremendous start isn’t rock bottom, then they are in real trouble.

Somehow, despite all their problems, the Ducks had a chance to complete a comeback from ten points down. When TJ Bamba hit his second of two free-throws with 48 seconds remaining Oregon was within a basket. But Michigan secured an offensive rebound on the following possession and won the ensuing free-throw battle, running the clock out on the comeback. 

Oregon had no answer for Michigan’s Danny Wolf who overmatched a lackluster defensive unit. Wolf finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds  with a pair of 3-pointers and was one of five Wolverines in double-figures. Michigan attacked the rim more, and got to the line 21 times on the night and hitting 14 of 17 tries in the second half alone. 

Altman’s offense also seemed in need of an overhaul after its bench unit was a net negative. The Ducks struggled mightily with reserves in the game. Michigan had 13 points off of 12 Oregon turnovers and parlayed 12 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points. 

The Ducks looked like they might reverse their fortunes by rallying back spurred by 10 second half Michigan turnovers. But the early deficit coupled by a pair of missed opportunities proved too much and the margins for Oregon to salvage its season became tighter. 

Jackson Shelstad led all scorers with 18 points and added four rebounds and four assists on 7-17 shooting. Bamba added 13 of his own, 11 of which came in the second half.

Oregon matched Michigan in virtually every stat but still couldn’t hit shots when it mattered most. Bamba missed the first try of a one-and-one with two minutes remaining and Shelstad missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Oregon was held without a field goal over the game’s final three minutes.

Despite being known for gearing up late season runs, Altman must now be faced with a new reality. His team is playing some of the worst defense of his 15 seasons in Eugene. His bench isn’t giving him nearly enough and his offense struggles to find any consistent rhythm.

Add it up and a season that looked incredibly promising as recently as three weeks ago is now on a distinctly different trajectory.

The Ducks remain on the road taking on No. 9 Michigan State on Saturday, a season on the brink needing another unexpected swerve.

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Coming off one of its biggest wins in years, No. 23 Texas Tech proved to be too much for Oregon women’s tennis, earning a 4-3 win over the Ducks at the Student Tennis Center in Eugene. 

With five points finalized and Oregon down a point, both Bridget Mihulka and Karin Young needed to win their sets to keep the Ducks’ hot streak alive.

The run in peril was one that saw the Ducks pick up five-straight wins to start the season. Texas Tech entered on the heels of its first top-10 win in seven years.

Young fought well, but ultimately fell to Hhahola, sending the Ducks home with a loss. 

Mihulka and TTU’s Arina Oreshchenkova went back and forth all day, with their matchup going to a 6-6 tiebreak. Mihulka would close out the set on top, leaving Young and Mariia Hhahola facing off to decide the match. 

“Doubles,” head coach Courtney Nagle said postgame on what the number one thing she wants her team to improve on going forward is. 

“It was a great battle, I think all the way from the beginning to the end,” Nagle said. “I thought we did a really great job in the singles of digging our heels in and making it a great match.” 

Texas Tech started the day hot, defeating Oregon 2-1 in the three doubles matches and earning the first point of the day. 

Hlahola and Avelina Sayafetdinova defeated Oregon’s Patsy Daughters and Young 6-4 in the first match. Kate Dmitrichenko and Hailey Murphy had a similar result for the Red Raiders (4-1), defeating The Ducks’ Avery Jennings and Julia Visaya 6-3. 

Oregon bounced back in the unnecessary third match, with a strong performance from Tilde Jagare and Juliet Santitto besting Andreeea Lila and Jermine Sherif — the nation’s No. 33 ranked doubles team — of TTU. Jagare and Santitto were in command, rarely trailing en route to a 6-2 win.  

As the early single-set matches began to roll in, it was clear that Texas Tech had an early advantage. The Red Raiders rolled off to commanding 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-1 wins over the Ducks. Andreea Lila bested Daughters 2-0 and Hailey Murphy delivered a commanding two set win over Candela Aparisi. 

Tilde Jagare continued her strong Saturday by besting Elena Daskalova in two sets. Jagare improved her overall results to a strong 10-3 overall to begin the set and move the score to.

“It’s a great experience for our younger players to play a team like this and take them the distance,” Nagle said. 

Marjorie Souza grabbed a win in two sets over Sayfetdinova moving the score on the day to 3-2 in the Red Raiders’ advantage. Oregon would need third-set wins from both Mihulka and Young to grab a win on the day. 

Mihulka’s tiebreak-set win evened the score at three and turned all eyes to Young and Hhahola facing off in the final set of the day. 

“She did a great job of battling throughout,” Nagle said of Mihulka. “She came back, fought back, I’m very proud of her effort today.” 

Hhahola quickly took a 3-1 advantage before an expertly placed ball ended the day in the Red Raiders’ advantage.  

“I think we have to look at this match, learn from it,” Nagle said. “I know we lost, but there’s a lot of really good things that came from this match that will give us belief against other teams we will play in other situations.” 

Oregon will return to action on February 14, at home against Arizona State.

Maybe any other month of the college basketball season, any other moment, and a game like Sunday’s 80-48 routing could be written off as an unavoidable occurrence.

It happens on days like this for teams, the second game in three nights, the travel miles and the on-court minutes piling up. But when you’re where the Ducks were entering Sunday, that stuff can’t get in the way.

Needing to stack wins to continue their upward trajectory, fouls, sloppy offense and  lethargic defense were a big culprit for the Ducks (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten ) in their disappointing loss to Michigan (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten). Oregon looked like it might be on the verge of a sprint back to the top 25 with a ranked win on Friday, but an early ten-point deficit put the Ducks in position for an uphill climb.

It wasn’t a climb they would make.

The Ducks rebounded from the 38-24 first half to match Michigan relatively well to start the second half. But an 8-0 run from the Wolverines in the second half made the deficit 20 and put any hopes of a lofty comeback far out of reach. By the end, the deficit was 32, Michigan giving Oregon its worst loss of the season by far. 

Phillipina Kyei had 11 points and eight rebounds, but it was mostly low-impact in a game in which the Ducks never really had any force. Oregon turned the ball over 14 times and shot an atrocious 29.5% from the field. 

But it was defensively where the Ducks struggled the most, looking unexpectedly flat-footed after making strides all season. 

Michigan attacked the Ducks with size and physicality, neutralizing Peyton Scott (six points on 2-9 shooting) and Deja Kelly (two points on 1-7) at the basket. And their shooting didn’t come close to slowing down. Olivia Olson had an 18-point double-double for the Wolverines. 

Michigan scored 25 points in both the first and third quarters, shooting 45% from 3-point range and hitting 11 of 12 free throws. Mila Holloway led the way for Michigan with 19 points, she was one of six Wolverines with nine or more points. 

And when the final horn sounded, the Ducks’ four-game winning streak snapped with a mammoth loss, the team had to reckon with a performance that could make their path to the top of the conference (and a favorable seed) much cloudier. 

Head coach Kelly Graves will have to wait a week to see his team’s improvements, Oregon returns to play on Thursday against No.  14 Maryland. 

Amina Muhammad took the pass in the post midway through the third quarter, firmly grabbing the ball with both hands. She swung her arms one way, then another, until she found the positioning she wanted.

It was then that Oregon’s breakout forward rose for another layup against an overmatched defender.

A program taking a monumental step forward this season is only getting better with Muhammad, a top interior presence excelling at all levels of the game. 

With 2024 all-conference center Phillipina Kyei missing time, or being hindered by an injury, Muhammad has elevated her game as the season progresses. Muhammad has added a stabilizing force in the middle for a Ducks’ team (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten) in need of a stopper of the conference’s talented front-court players. 

“I mean, I gotta do what I gotta do for the team,” Muhammad said in the preseason of her stepping in with Kyei’s projected absence. 

Transferring to head coach Kelly Graves’ Ducks in the offseason, Muhammad has elevated her game in Eugene, averaging two points per game more than last season and seeing a six-point increase in her field-goal percentage. 

It hasn’t just been her offense. Muhammad is extremely noticeable on the defensive end as well, using her long reach to get into passing lanes and lauded toughness as a formidable presence in the paint. 

“She’s just really solidified herself as someone that’s going to play a lot,” Graves said of Muhammad before the season. 

In that increased playing time — she’s averaging a career-high in minutes played — Muhammad is on pace to set new personal bests in steal-to-turnover ratio, scoring efficiency and steals. 

There’s been more to celebrate in Eugene than just Muhammad’s recent performance, with the Ducks’ 12 wins already besting last year’s total while touting an impressive 10-1 record on home court. 

But the 6-foot-4 forward’s emergence has certainly been one of this season’s most pleasant surprises. 

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