Oregon Softball (26-3) Wins Series vs. Washington in Seattle

[Charles Fischer]

Ducks Win UW Series After Split on Sunday

 

 SEATTLE – No. 8 Oregon won its initial Big Ten Conference series, 2-1, after splitting a pair of games against Washington Sunday at Husky Softball Stadium.

 

The Ducks won the first game, a continuation of Saturday’s weather-suspended affair, 5-2. That, combined with a 9-0 win in Friday’s opener, clinched the series for Oregon (26-3, 2-1).

 

The Ducks went for the sweep Sunday afternoon and rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth before falling 4-3 in the third game of the series.

 

How It Happened (Game 1) — Oregon 5, Washington 2: The Ducks won a game that was started on Saturday, but was suspended in the second inning due to rain before being completed Sunday.

 

Once the game resumed, Oregon put up three runs in the top of the third. Kai Luschar singled and stole second. It was the Ducks’ 100^th steal of the season, marking just the fourth time in program history that an Oregon team has reached 100 stolen bases.

 

Luschar then moved up to third on Paige Sinicki’s infield single and then both runners scored on Katie Flannery’s double into right center.

 

“They did the hard work of getting on base, so I can do my part of getting a hit just to get them in,” said Flannery.

 

Rylee McCoy followed with a double of her own to plate Flannery and give the Ducks a 3-0 lead.

 

In the fifth inning, Flannery homered off UW starter Stevie Hansen, her former Duck teammate, to make it 5-0. Paige Sinicki reached base with a bunt single and Flannery hit a 2-1 pitch that just cleared the left field wall for her seventh home run of the season.

 

 

It capped what was an impressive week for Flannery, where she hit .692 (9-of-13), homered four times and drove in 12 runs. She also had a double, a triple and scored nine runs. Her slugging percentage for the week was 1.846.

 

“You could see it just start with the end of Mary Nutter (Classic) getting comfortable at the plate and really understanding what she’s wanting to do with each at-bat,” said coach Melyssa Lombardi of Flannery’s week. “She’s just elevated her level at the plate and want her to just continue what she’s doing.”

 

Duck starter Elise Sokolsky kept Washington off the scoreboard into the fifth inning.

 

After 10 scoreless innings in the series, the Huskies finally broke through against Oregon’s pitching with a two-run home run in the fifth inning that made it 5-2. Lyndsey Grein came on in relief and retired all seven batters she faced to lock up the victory for the Ducks.

 

Sokolsky allowed two runs on four hits and struck out three to improve to 7-1 on the season. Grein struck out three of the seven batters she faced to earn her third save of the year.

 

Flannery was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in the early game. Sinicki also had two hits.

 

Notable: The Luschar sisters stole Oregon’s 99^th and 100^th bases of the season in the first game. Kedre Luschar walked and stole second in the second inning for the team’s 99^th stolen base of the season. An inning later, Kai Luschar – who is in the top five nationally in stolen bases, swiped the team’s 100^th base of the season.

 

“It shows that we can win in many ways,” said Lombardi. “We can win with our speed, we can win with the long ball, we can work the short game.

 

 

“It’s important because the game is going to ask us to win in different ways throughout the year. I love how fast we are and have the ability to run when we need to.”

 

It marked just the fourth time in program history that a Duck team reached 100 steals in a season. The single-season record is 126, set in 2007.

 

How It Happened (Game 2) — Washington 4, Oregon 3: The Huskies scored a run in the first, second and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. Washington took advantage of some rare wildness from Oregon in the circle to scratch out a run the first. UW then hit solo shots off Lyndsey Grein in the second and fifth innings for a 3-0 lead.

 

The Ducks rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning.

 

Paige Sinicki was hit by a pitch and Katie Flannery singled. An out later, Kedre Luschar singled up the middle to load the bases.

 

Dez Patmon then appeared to hit a grand slam on a towering drive to left, but the ball was ruled foul. Husky Softball Stadium has some of the shortest foul poles in the league and it is difficult to tell whether or not a high drive is fair or foul at the point it crosses the wall.

 

Patmon ended up striking out, but the next batter, Stefini Ma’ake, gave Oregon new life with a two-out double.

 

After being held hitless in the series, Ma’ake slapped a ball up the middle to the wall in center field to clear the bases and tie the game at 3-3.

 

 

“When you’re struggling, you’ve just got to keep pushing and pushing knowing that your opportunity is going to come,” said Lombardi. “I don’t think Stef ever got down on herself and she continued to stay ready this whole time and came through for us in a big moment. She was quiet all weekend but then when we needed something big, she really came through.”

 

Ma’ake was left at second after Braiesey Rosa, who went 2-for-3, struck out.

 

The Huskies (21-9, 1-2) blooped two hits with two outs off Lyndsey Grein in the bottom of the sixth before pinch-hitter Charity Sevaaetasi’s line drive down the left field line scored the eventual winning run.

 

Grein took the loss – her first of the season – to fall to 14-1.

 

Notable: The Ducks’ 26-3 start is the program’s best 29-game record since going 27-2 to open the 2021 season … Kai Luschar stole one base to increase her season total to 32. That’s tied for sixth on the UO single-season list with Sari-Jane Jenkins (2008) … Sinicki made her 157^th and 158^th consecutive starts at shortstop … A couple of hitting streaks came to an end in Sunday’s first game … Kedre Luschar had a 14-game hitting streak going into Sunday, while Braiesey Rosa’s was at seven games. Both had a hit in the second game.

 

Quotable:

Head coach Melyssa Lombardi on handling the weekend’s shifting schedule

“These guys are very mature. They understand how to do that. They are pretty locked in in knowing what they need to do.”

 

Up Next: Oregon’s road trip through Washington concludes with a nonconference game at Seattle U. Monday at 3 p.m. (ESPN+).