EUGENE, Ore. — A five-run first inning helped the No. 18 Oregon Ducks (18–7) rebound from a loss on Saturday and defeat the Nevada Wolf Pack (16–9) 7–3 at Jane Sanders Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
RBIs from Kaylynn Jones, Rylee McCoy, Emma Cox, and Katie Flannery allowed the Ducks to go through the entire batting order in the first and chase Nevada right-hander Hailey McLean from the game without recording an out.
“I love our lineup, our team is great, I have confidence in every single player one through nine,” McCoy, who plated two runs, said. “I think it's great being a hitter and knowing if I don’t get out and do my job, I have full faith and trust in the people behind me.”
First baseman Stefini Ma’ake plated another run with a single to center in the second inning, scoring right fielder Elon Butler from third. Ma’ake finished 1-for-4, and the Ducks bounced back after dropping their first matchup with the Wolf Pack on Saturday, 8–5, and rounded out the Jane Sanders Classic with a win.
Every Duck starter recorded a hit on Sunday.
“I love how our offense exploded in the first inning,” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “We had 11 hitters come to the plate in the first inning and put five on the board, and they felt like that just really set the tone right from the start.”
McLean finished with 31 pitches and was charged with five runs on three hits with a pair of walks. Right-hander Tess Bumiller relieved her and pitched 2 ⅓ innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.
First baseman Hannah Di Genova gave Nevada the early 2–0 lead with a home run that bounced off the glove of Ayanna Shaw in center field.
Di Genova, along with left fielder Madison Clark, accounted for all five of the six Nevada hits. Clark finished 2-for-4 with a triple and a single.
Lyndsey Grein settled in after giving up the home run to Di Genova by nearly tossing a complete game, allowing only three runs on five hits with four strikeouts before being pulled with one out remaining in the seventh. Grein made appearances in all five games of the Jane Sanders Classic.
“In the first inning, it’s obviously not ideal, or the result you want,” Grein said. “But I knew my teammates were going to have my back, and the next thing I can do is have the right approach to what I’m doing next so I can give it my best shot. My teammates and coaches created a really good environment for me to be able to do that.”
Right-hander Maddie Milhorn relieved Grein and allowed one hitter to reach base before retiring Matlyn Leech to seal the game for the Ducks.
“Maddie is a stud,” Grein said. “I’ve been saying it since before we got started with her. But Maddie’s outstanding at what she does. She absolutely has a cannon attached to her body and just throws straight gas.
Shaw finished 3-for-4 and made up for the mishap in center with a pair of infield singles in the first inning, stealing a pair of bases in the process. All three of Shaw’s hits stayed on the infield dirt.
Shortstop Taryn Ho singled with one out in the sixth and scored on a fielder’s choice to make it a five-run ballgame. Nevada second baseman Saige Alfaro threw home despite there being two outs.
Nevada center fielder Bailie Clark hit a solo home run with two outs remaining in the seventh to make it a four-run game late.
Oregon is officially done with non-conference play until April 22, when it faces the Oregon State Beavers in the final Civil War game of the season.
“We’re excited to implement those learning moments into conference play,” Grein said. “We’re just excited to get going. I’m super pumped for version eight to take on Big Ten.”
The Ducks open up Big Ten play on Friday with a three-game series against the Penn State Nittany Lions (18–6) at 4:00 p.m. PT, streaming on Big Ten Plus.
“I think we feel really ready,” Lombardi said. “We learned a lot from non-conference, and it sped up our schedule. It sped up our process. It really allowed us to see things that we need to adjust, things that we were doing really well, and just continue to find out who we are as a team.”
What’s Next:
No. 18 Oregon vs. Penn State Friday 3/13