It’s hard to compete with the Ducks (43-5, 16-2 Big Ten) when Oregon’s clicking on both offense and defense.

That’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon in the Ducks’ 9-1 win over Indiana (28-15, 8-9 Big Ten). 

Unlike Friday’s contest, it took Oregon little time to get started. The Ducks scored five runs on six hits in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the first, Emma Cox doubled into right field and extended the lead to three. Then, Kaylynn Jones and Braiesey Rosa helped add on with knocks and extend the lead to five.  

“I was just trying to do whatever to get on base and not let the pitcher beat me,” Cox said to GoDucks.  

All told, the Ducks scored five times, had 11 batters reach base and chased Indiana’s starter from the game after 37 dismal pitches.

With the early offensive outburst, Oregon’s pitchers had plenty of leeway throughout their outings. Lyndsey Grein, Elise Sokolsky and Staci Chambers combined to go the distance for the Ducks in the circle, allowing just one run on six hits. Grein started the game and reentered to close out the contest, combining to throw 2.2 innings of five-strikeout ball. 

Sokolsky allowed just one run over her 2.1 innings of work, improving her record to 12-2 on the season. 

“I trust our pitchers whole-heartedly,”  Cox said. “I love our pitching staff and I love how they work in unison. They just did a great job passing the ball today.”

Rylee McCoy blasted her 15th homer of the year in the sixth — a new freshman school record. 

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was happening and all my teammates were congratulating me so I figured it out,” McCoy said. “It felt amazing and I’m honestly just proud of the team allowing me to be in the position I’m in.”

The Ducks’ top three hitters combined to go 5-10 with five runs scored. Cox was 2-4 with a pair of doubles and looks completely healed from her injury suffered earlier this season. 

Six different Hoosiers tallied hits, but none made a real impact on the game — no Indiana player did. 

A single, sac-fly and passed ball in the fourth helped Oregon’s offense pile on and put the game far out of reach. 

Oregon was a combined 5-10 with runners in scoring position, compared to 1-9 from Indiana. 

Oregon will look for the series sweep on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

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After the chaos of last weekend’s marquee ranked matchup, No. 5 Oregon softball’s (42-5, 15-2 Big Ten) Friday night series-opening 10-4 win over Indiana (28-14, 8-9 Big Ten) felt far more routine.

There was minimal late intrigue, and aside from a three-hour rain delay, the game’s result was little surprise. Still, the Ducks’ six-run victory had plenty of substance. 

The lengthy delay didn’t derail the Ducks. Instead, it only held up their eventual mid-game surge towards a series-opening win.  

Oregon right-hander Lyndsey Grein recovered from a brutal one-hit, two-walk, three-run first inning to hold the Hoosiers to just one more run over her 4.2-inning outing.

Aly VanBrandt slugged a three-run homer in the first off Grein, which had fans in Bloomington eager for an upset. 

Eventually, though, Oregon took control. 

The Ducks got two back in the second via a wild pitch and Kai Luschar single. Then, a five-run fifth inning keyed by another Luschar single and seven free bases issued by the Hoosiers helped Oregon extend its lead. 

Aside from Luschar (3-4, two RBI), Kaylynn Jones was the Ducks’ other offensive catalyst, going 2-3 with two runs scored and a walk. 

Elise Sokolsky entered in relief and went the rest of the way for the Ducks, firing 2.2 innings of two-hit ball. 

Grein recorded her 26th win of the season, extending her national lead. 

Indiana’s best chance at clawing back in the game came when the Hoosiers got runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth, but Sokolsky got a clutch strikeout and went unscathed the rest of the way. 

VanBrandt’s first-inning homer ended up being just one of just two Hoosiers’ extra-base hits.

On the other hand, the Ducks were poised at the plate, taking advantage of what Indiana gave them while walking a whopping 11 times. 

The Ducks will have a quick turnaround as they look to clinch a series win. Game two is set for Saturday at 10 a.m.

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This is what fans wanted to see. 

Oregon’s Rylee McCoy and UCLA’s Megan Grant trading big at-bats. Two talent-rich lineups keeping opposing pitchers under constant stress. And the West Coast’s two most star-studded squads turning a routine April weekend into a midseason playoff preview.

To cap things off, a day after being embarrassed in front of a sell-out crowd, it was No. 5 Oregon (41-5, 14-2 Big Ten) that did all the little things right and No. 6 UCLA (41-7, 13-3 Big Ten) that crumbled in a 9-0 run-rule Ducks win at Jane Sanders Stadium

“This is huge,” centerfielder Kedre Luschar said.“We wanted this so bad… World Series teams come back and that’s what we did.”  

Oregon’s Kaylynn Jones had the biggest day, collecting three RBI’s with her first career homer in the win. 

“We knew she had that power…we were waiting for it,” Luschar said. 

Lyndsey Grein dominated yet again in the circle, tossing a complete game and allowing just three hits. She finished the series with 11.1 scoreless innings against one of the nation’s top offenses. 

The result — a commanding Oregon series win against a team that almost always wins these types of high-stakes games — however, was just as memorable as the scene that surrounded it.

For a sport where monotony rules and games are often decided long before they are played, this weekend’s three games — all with postseason implications — provided a much-needed shot in the arm. 

“We’re all bought in,” Luschar said. “We all want this… and we are pretty lethal.” 

“We live for these games, these moments,” Grein said. 

To succeed in the postseason, Oregon will need to do much more of what it did on Sunday. The Ducks gleefully capitalized on every Bruins’ blunder and shut down a potent UCLA lineup to earn a stress-free ranked win. 

UCLA only had one error in the loss, but missed on a bevy of chances on both sides of the ball that could have helped swing the game. 

On the other hand, Oregon was nails and won on all the margins. The biggest defensive play on the day came from shortstop Paige Sinicki, who made a diving catch and tagged second to erase a Bruins’ third-inning rally. 

“Our defense and Paige are outstanding,” Grein said. “I actually sat down with Paige last night at dinner and was like ‘Hey I’m sorry the balls are coming in so hot’ and she was like ‘No keep them coming’.”

Grein’s ERA now sits at 1.11 over 134.2 innings of work. 

McCoy and Luschar each starred too, they each went 2-3 with a pair of RBI’s apiece to help Oregon grab an early lead. 

Jones punctuated the win in the fourth with her first-career homer — a three-run blast to right-center. 

“I was just trying to focus on a sac-fly, to score the runners,” Jones said. “To have that feeling of hitting it out was great.” 

While only counting as another series win in a season that’s been packed with them, the weekend win over the Bruins brought a certain energy to Eugene. 

This weekend was Oregon’s first series win against UCLA under Lombardi — and will serve as a tremendous boost to the Ducks’ regional-hosting aspirations. 

“To be the best you have to beat the best,” Lombardi said. “This is why I coach, why these guys train, for series like this.” 

Oregon will head on the road, taking on Indiana (28-13, 8-8 Big Ten) in Bloomington. 

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That was bad. 

“We didn’t play well enough in any area,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said.

Really bad. 

“They know they didn’t play well.” Lombardi said. “The biggest thing for them is to understand we didn’t play well.” 

2,917 were in attendance for Oregon softball on Saturday afternoon — and the Ducks were a no-show. 

It’s just one game, of course, and on paper, No. 5 Oregon’s (40-5, 13-2 Big Ten) 8-0 loss in game two of a series against the No. 6-ranked UCLA Bruins (41-6, 13-2 Big Ten) won’t change much in the grand scheme of the season.

But on the field, just a pair of games into a marquee matchup that has provided postseason-esque atmospheres in the middle of April, Lombardi’s squad has received a much-needed barometer. 

Of how the Ducks’ pitching staff matches up with one of the best offenses in the nation. 

Of what a blueprint for success might look like in the playoffs.

And of the imperfections they still must correct to reach the lofty goals the team has set for themselves. 

On Friday night, they out-executed the Bruins in a wire-to-wire win. Saturday, however, was a different story. Despite being able to deploy their pitching plan — which was to have Lyndsey Grein and Staci Chambers start the game before handing the ball over to Elise Sokolsky for the majority of the innings — Oregon’s offense went silent in the loss.  

Addisen Fisher was tremendous for the Bruins, tossing six shutout innings and improving her record to 14-0 on the season. 

“We didn’t make the adjustments,” Lombardi said of Fisher’s performance. “She pitched well and kept getting us to ground out. We just kept making the same types of outs.”

It was the Ducks first run-rule loss since April 22, 2022. 

The offensive lull was the primary reason for the defeat, but there were other small ways the Ducks fell Saturday afternoon. 

A walk to the Bruins’ nine-hole hitter was followed by an error from usually sure-handed shortstop Paige Sinicki. Then, a sac-fly and a wild pitch brought in the first two of UCLA’s eight runs. 

Those mistakes weren’t the main reason Oregon lost, not after the Ducks struggled to hit or garner any offensive momentum at all.

But two third-inning blunders combined with the Bruins’ sixth-inning outburst were more than enough for UCLA to sink Oregon. 

The Bruins blew the game open when Jordan Woolerly slapped a three-run double to left before Kaniya Bragg blasted a long homer to left.

On the other hand, Sokolsky and reliever Taylour Spencer combined for four walks — three of which came around to score. 

“She needs to tighten things up a little bit,” Lombardi said of Sokolsky. “I thought we were just too up and down with the counts, instead of getting ahead and putting them away.” 

Still, UCLA won on the margins — the Bruins outhit the Ducks nine to three and played a far cleaner game. 

It was a brutal loss for the Ducks, but in the big picture, game two of the series will have to count as a blip on the Ducks’ relatively unscathed record. 

Oregon will go for a series win on Sunday at 2 p.m.

“We are a really good team, I didn’t like how we played today. I know our team didn’t like how we played today” Lombardi said. “So what’s nice is we get another opportunity tomorrow… but props to them.”

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For a sport that struggles to draw national attention and doesn’t lend itself to many show-stopping series over a grind of a season, this weekend’s matchup provided a much-needed break from a season of mostly low-stakes softball. 

For seven innings of  No. 5 Oregon’s (40-4, 13-1 Big Ten) 3-1 win over No. 6-ranked UCLA (40-6, 12-2 Big Ten), fans held onto every out and close play at Jane Sanders Stadium. They could finally relax after Elise Sokolsky induced a groundout from Savannah Pola to end the contest. 

That result looked far less likely in the innings prior when UCLA loaded the bases in the fourth and got its first two batters on in the sixth. But Oregon did all the little things right and every big moment went the Ducks’ way, leading to one of their more marquee wins of the season. 

“We talk about belief in this team,” Sokolsky said. “We knew we were going to win, we just didn’t know how.” 

For all but two fatal swings Friday night, the two teams traded body blows to keep the teams mostly even.

All three pitchers were terrific, with Lyndsey Grein throwing 5.1 scoreless innings for Oregon before handing the ball over to Sokolsky while Taylor Tinsley dealt for the Bruins. 

“I find my validation in Christ, and my teammates and my coaches,” Grein said. “Those are my people, I don’t need validation from numbers or stats or throwing the ball hard. I don’t need that.” 

“We were facing a really great pitcher,” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “So you’ve got to figure out what you want and when you can strike.” 

Grein finished with eight strikeouts and allowed just five hits in 5.1 innings of work against one of the top offenses in the country. 

“I thought she did a great job,” Lombardi said. “What she did is what she’s done all year.” 

The first big moment came in the bottom of the fourth when Rylee McCoy blasted a homer to dead-center field, throwing her hands up in celebration after she hit the no-doubter. 

“She’s the best,” Grein said of McCoy. “I’m so so excited to spend the rest of the season with her and the next few years.” 

The Bruins had two massive chances to strike on offense, they didn’t convert on either. 

First, they loaded the bases in the fourth before Megan Grant’s fly-ball to center died at the warning track. Then, Sokolksy entered with runners on first and second with one out in the sixth and struck out the next two batters. 

Grant is one of the best hitters in the country and entered with just three strikeouts on the year — she finished the game 0-2 with a walk and a strikeout. 

Kedre Luchar added on in the sixth, driving in two crucial runs as she lined a ball over the left-center fence to extend the lead to three. 

Sokolsky got Pola to ground out to end the game as fans roared in delirium after one of the Ducks’ better home wins in recent years. 

The series will still count as only three games in the standings — relatively low stakes for a pair of the nation’s best teams who both have championship aspirations. 

Just don’t tell that to the 2,373 fans who packed the ballpark, a lagging softball industry at large looking for a mid-season spark and a Ducks team looking to flex their muscles against a program that has dominated the west-coast landscape for so long. 

The series opener was a tense, tactical marathon of a game. Fans will see what game two has in store Saturday at 4 p.m.

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The cities change, the details vary.

The constant is the result this season for No. 4 Oregon (38-4, 12-1 Big Ten) thus far in conference play — a victory. 

In a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-25, 3-12 Big Ten), the Ducks performed just well enough — building, then almost blowing an early five-run lead before finally prevailing behind a scoreless seventh inning from Elise Sokolsky. 

Oregon has now won 11-straight against conference opponents and yet again found a way to win on Sunday despite having just seven hits. 

The Ducks once again struck first on Sunday. Kedre Luchar slapped a two–run homer in the third before Ayanna Shaw and Braiesey Rosa each tallied RBI singles in the fifth — but that big lead wouldn’t last.

The Golden Gophers deployed four pitchers that each did well enough to keep the game within striking distance for their squad. Finally, after mustering just one hit through the first five innings, Minnesota struck. 

Lyndsey Grein was terrific for Oregon for most of Sunday’s win, tossing five efficient innings. She faced just one over the minimum before running into trouble in the fifth — during that frame, she was facing the Golden Gophers’ batters for roughly the seventh time in the series. 

Two singles followed by a hit batter loaded the bases for Minnesota before Nani Valencia hit a grand slam. Suddenly, a five-run lead was reduced to just one and Oregon would have to tap into some of its late-game heroics fans have grown accustomed to of late. 

Luckily, Sokolsky was up for the challenge, facing the minimum and striking out three to clinch the win. 

Sokolsky and Grein both did their parts for most of the game and the series — each of their season ERA’s now rest at a sterling 2.56 and 1.74, respectively. 

Luschar also smacked her fourth homer of the year, building upon her breakout season as the everyday left-fielder. 

Oregon’s fourth sweep of conference play also helps the Ducks’ chances of hosting a regional — something that hasn’t been done in Eugene since 2018, and frankly, should be the expectation at this point in the season. 

Emma Cox made her first start behind the dish since returning from injury, going 1-3 with a double and a walk in the four-spot in the lineup. 

Oregon’s biggest test of conference play still awaits, though. The Ducks travel to Corvallis for a game on Wednesday, before hosting No. 8 UCLA at Jane Sanders Stadium in a series starting Friday. 

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Oregon softball has exceeded any expectations any realistic fan could have put on the Ducks going into the 2025 season. Somehow, a group that had to replace seven everyday starter seniors has gotten better — hosting a regional is absolutely not out of the question for Oregon, and frankly, should be the expectation. 

There have been faces both new and old contributing, and a lineup that had six newcomers to start its season has often picked up its pitching staff and vice versa. 

With all that being said, let’s take a look at where the rest of the conference stands while giving some historical context to some of the Ducks’ new foes. 

The contenders — Oregon, Northwestern, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Ohio State

The Ducks easily fall into this category here. Lyndsey Grein (0.98 ERA through her first 93 innings) and four Big Ten Freshman of the Week honorees are a big reason why. 

There’s a clear power dynamic in the Big Ten — there are these seven schools, and then everyone else. UCLA and Michigan are the conference’s only champions this decade, with Washington making the championship in 2018. It’s also noteworthy that the Ducks will avoid a good number of these programs in the regular season — Oregon will host UCLA and Michigan at the Jane later this season. 

The middle — Washington, Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, Minnesota

Washington is the program most likely to rise a tier here, with the Huskies able to beat up on most of the Big Ten’s lower tier teams. UW gave Oregon its first conference loss of the season and boasts an impressive freshman class that could see the program rise. 

It’s worth noting that Minnesota (2017) is the only non-Michigan or Northwestern school to win a conference championship since 2014, so there’s a pretty clear lack of parity between the best and the rest. 

The bottom — Maryland, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers 

These are tough times in the cellar for these programs. Rutgers is the one team here that is having an outlier 2025 season — the Scarlet Knights were third in the conference standings a year ago. 

It’s notable that Oregon has played both Illinois and Rutgers in two of its first three conference matchups. It’s also worth considering that the Ducks (31-3) have the best record in the conference through their first 34 games. 

Overall

While there’s a pretty clear disparity between the best teams in the conference, the world of NIL can change everything quickly in college sports. It’ll be interesting to see whether Oregon or UCLA can top the conference in their first year, or if one of the top dogs can keep or reclaim their championship spot.

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The point, again, feels redundant at this stage, but it’s nonetheless worth repeating because it’s the reason why most college softball teams might struggle late in the season: Oregon softball’s pitching staff must remain healthy, and effective.

The suspicions of the winter, which became legitimate fears in the early going of the regular season, turned into a minor panic when transfer southpaw Staci Chambers went down with injury. 

Chambers is healthy now, but the problem remains — head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s Ducks are always an injury away from another pitching disaster. 

Incredibly, the Ducks were able to get through a double-header filled early slate of the season on just three arms. Taylour Spencer, Elise Sokolsky and Lyndsey Grein have been tremendous thus far in 2025. Still, most teams rely on four or five reliable arms for their success. 

Chambers’ return certainly helps. 

“It gave me chills,” Lombardi said of Chambers making her first appearance since Feb. 8.  “Standing out there seeing Taylour nodding to come replace her. I think our players get it, but our fans, the cheers they gave her to take the mound, all around was really cool.”

Although short, Chambers returning to the circle provides the Ducks with a much clearer path going forward in conference play. 

She’s the only left-handed pitcher on the roster and already slots in as a reliable bullpen arm. She had a 2.07 ERA last season at California State University, Fullerton.

In the past, Lombardi has entered the season expecting to rely on a true ace to take on most of the work. 

The Ducks, however, have gone a different direction with their pitching depth this season.

They have a young core of Spencer and Rowan Thompson. But, they also have the three veteran arms who have taken on a good amount of the work. 

Chambers’ return can only help mitigate some of those workload concerns later on in the season. 

“We’re all so different,” Grein said earlier this season of her fellow pitchers. “Everyone has their own specific talent. I’ve learned so much from Taylour, Elise, Staci and Rowan … we all just want to make each other better.” 

Lombardi shared a similar sentiment: “This is the deepest staff we’ve had since I’ve been here. They are all so different, not one is the same.” 

Those unique qualities have been a big part of the Ducks’ surge to start the season. Oregon has maintained a top-10 spot in the polls since its hot start and has the second-lowest ERA in the nation at 1.73.

“It’s always on to the next,” Lombardi said. “We win a game, celebrate great, (and) on to the next. When we are at our best, it’s constantly on to the next.” 

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Oregon scored 20 runs on 19 hits. Rutgers brought just 20 batters to the dish altogether. 

No.6 Oregon (29-3, 4-1 Big Ten) looked incredibly comfortable 2,909 miles away from home, scoring 20 runs in five innings against an overmatched Rutgers’ (16-20,1-5 Big Ten) pitching staff in a 20-1 blowout win. 

An offensive outburst — epitomized by Stefini Ma’ake’s 4-5, six-RBI game — was the story of the day for the Ducks, who needed just six outs to score 12 runs. 

Lyndsey Grein and Staci Chambers combined to throw all five innings for the Ducks in the run-rule-shortened win. Chambers allowed one run over two innings of work in her second post-injury outing.

Three hits in a row from Ma’ake, Kedre Luschar and Dez Patmon helped the Ducks hang a four-spot on Scarlet Knights’ freshman Kelsey Hoekstra in the first.  

Things were about to get a lot worse for the home squad. 

Oregon scored in every inning, with an eight-run second frame doing most of the damage. The Ducks brought 14 batters to the plate, and it took Rutgers until the eighth batter of the inning to record its first out. 

Oregon was an incredible 19-33 overall and had 13 hits in 25 tries with runners on. It took Rutgers until the fourth inning to have a batter reach second base. 

Dominance like this has been routine for a Ducks team that has had little trouble disposing of overmatched opponents. Dating back to last weekend’s games, Oregon has outscored opponents 46-5 over its last four contests. 

The Scarlet Knights scored their lone run in the fourth inning on a Jayla Fuller double to left off Chambers. 

The incredible cushion gave head coach Melyssa Lombardi ample opportunity to empty her bench. 17 different Ducks entered the game, all of whom received at-bats. 

Other offensive catalysts on the day included Braiesey Rosa (1-2 with a grand slam) and Kalynn Jones (4-4, two RBI’s, two runs scored). 

Grein threw three innings and struck out seven of the 11 batters she faced. The Scarlet Knights had no chance against one of the best pitchers in the Big Ten and the nation. 

The Ducks had some spare time on their trip to the East Coast as they’ll only play two games against Rutgers, so they visited MLB Network’s studio in New York a few days before their weekend games against Rutgers. The second and final game of the series is set for noon on Saturday.

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Diamond sports and numbers coalesce like no other. 

With the wealth of data, coaches, fans and journalists alike have incredible amounts of information and technology about players. Oregon softball even has a machine that simulates their next opposing pitchers’ deliveries. The numbers, the data and the technology tell the story: how to evaluate a player, where they should bat and so on.  

Then, there are catchers, one position where sometimes, the numbers can’t tell the story. 

Coaches can look at a player’s offensive output, and track their ability to throw out runners, but in other areas of the game — pitch framing, game managing and immeasurable confidence — catchers’ value remains hard to gauge. 

Emma Cox is becoming one of those catchers for the Oregon softball team. 

“I thought she did a really nice job,” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of Cox after she was the first of three Ducks in a row to receive Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. “I love the way she swung the bat. I think she does a really great job working with our pitchers, and just what she does behind the plate.” 

The numbers back up Cox’s performance too — through her first 17 collegiate games, Cox tallied a .354 batting average, four homers and threw out a pair of runners. 

“I would say I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did,” Cox said after the first weekend of the season. “But I got to this place where I was like, ‘you know, good or bad, we’re not going to worry about the outcome’. I’m going to focus on what I can control, and whatever happens, happens.”

But, a catcher’s true value sometimes comes in their relationship with their pitchers — something Cox has excelled at in her early career. 

“I love our pitchers a lot,” Cox said. “They are grinders and they want to win. So, I felt like it was super easy with me coming in because they made me feel so comfortable and  I have a great relationship with all of them.” 

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Cox, not with the backstop missing almost the entirety of the Oregon Classic after suffering an injury on a deflected foul ball in the first game. Still, with a return to play likely, and Cox emerging as a dependable force behind the dish and at the plate, the sky’s the limit for the Thornton, Colorado native. 

After a combined five seasons of All-Conference-level play from both Terra McGowan and Emma Kauf, Lombardi entered the season without certainty of what the Ducks’ future behind the plate would look like. Then, Cox entered the scene. 

But adding Cox to a lauded freshman group has certainly added some clarity to the team’s plans behind the plate in 2025.

“It’s so exciting to see what they are doing,” associate head coach Sam Marder said of the freshman class. “They are taking on a huge load, and a lot of times as freshmen, what people are now starting to expect of them is incredible… I don’t know if people are recognizing enough how special what this freshman class is doing.”

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