EUGENE, Ore. — Duck fans packed Jane Sanders Stadium for Day 2 of the NCAA Regionals as the No. 14 Oregon Ducks clashed with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Both teams advanced after thrilling Day 1 comebacks. Mississippi State (40-18) outlasted Saint Mary’s with an eighth-inning walk-off win, while Oregon (41-14) rode a spectacular fourth-inning grand slam from Ayanna Shaw to power past Idaho State.
Mississippi State ultimately claimed a historic 4-0 victory, forcing the Ducks into a turnaround. They dropped into the elimination bracket to face the winner of the Saint Mary’s and Idaho State matchup, needing three consecutive wins to save their season. The Ducks faced off against the Saint Mary’s Gaels but fell to them in a 5-4 battle as Oregon’s season ended.
“We gave everything we got,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “This group, when you talk about love and support, they had it all. They all wanted to work hard for each other, and I really appreciate it with this Version 8 and how they’ve been all year.”
Game 1: Mississippi State 4, Oregon 0
Oregon turned to Elise Sokolsky to start in the circle after her strong relief performance the day prior. The Ducks had early resistance from the Bulldogs’ lineup. Gretta Grassel provided Mississippi State with an early lead as she blasted a two-run homer to mark her first career blast. Unable to answer in the bottom of the inning, Oregon went into the second facing a 2-0 deficit.
“I think we all came out this weekend knowing we were playing for Lyndsey,” Sokolsky said on Lyndsey Grein being out for the weekend. “We wanted to come out and give everything we could so she could continue. It may not have gone our way in the end, but we’re all really proud of how we came out and kept playing for her and each other.”
The third inning brought more trouble for Oregon’s starter. Xiane Romero extended Mississippi State’s lead, driving an RBI double down the right field line as a runner came home. Recognizing the escalating threat, Oregon swapped Sokolsky out with Maddie Milhorn, who successfully shut down the inning in relief.
The Bulldogs extended their lead in the fourth, adding an insurance run as Oregon scrambled to get out of the inning.
Starting pitcher for Mississippi State and ace Alyssa Faircloth kept the Ducks completely held down while maintaining a no-hitter with ten strikeouts through seven flawless innings. Faircloth’s performance was the Bulldogs first postseason no-hitter in program history.
The Ducks lost the game in a no-hitter as the Ducks were forced to play a second game of the day against the winner of the losers' bracket, Saint Mary’s.
Game 1: Saint Mary’s 5, Oregon 4
Staring down elimination, Elon Butler chose the perfect moment to break out of her postseason funk. The Ducks’ offensive leader crushed a solo home run to left field to kick off the night, marking her first hit of the tournament and giving Oregon its very first lead of the postseason. After a single by Stefini Ma’ake, Saint Mary’s wasted no time in switching pitchers as Mia Nishikawa came in to continue the game, and the first inning ended with the Ducks in the lead, 1-0.
“I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my years doubting my abilities,” Butler said. “This year I said, ‘I’m going to send it. It was the best year in my career, and I’m glad I got to spend it around good people and a program that really values supporting and loving your athletes.”
Offense became hard to come by over the next two frames as both lineups failed to deliver runs. Oregon finally broke the deadlock in the fourth when Flannery launched a rocket into the outfield seats for a two-run shot. The blast signaled the end of the road for Saint Mary’s pitcher, forcing the Gaels to make a call to the bullpen to bring in Odhi Vasquez.
The wheels came off for the Oregon defense in the bottom of the fourth. After Saint Mary’s loaded the bases, an infield error by Ma’ake gifted the Gaels two runs to shorten the gap. The pressure mounted when Mia Zabat dropped a bunt. Flannery tried to make a play at the plate to protect the lead, but her throw was in vain as the runner on third did not run home, and the bases became loaded once again. The Gaels broke the game open moments later, a clutch two-run single down the left field line to seize a 4-3 advantage.
Oregon refused to let Saint Mary’s stay comfortable for long. In the top of the fifth, the Ducks aggressively loaded the bases to ignite the home crowd at The Jane. Taryn Ho then showed discipline at the plate, drawing a bases-loaded walk to push the tying run across and send the stadium into a frenzy.
“You reset all the time,” Butler said. “Every pitch, every at-bat, every play. It’s part of the game, you have to stay in the moment in order to be successful.”
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t Sokolsky’s day. After entering the circle in the fourth, Sokolsky hit a wall in the fifth, surrendering a single followed by a sharp triple as Saint Mary’s reclaimed a 5-4 lead. Oregon’s dugout moved quickly, subbing Sokolsky out to bring Spencer back into the game to halt the Gaels’ momentum.
“It’s been awesome to watch her,” Lombardi said of Spencer. “To see her confident in what she was doing and wanting to do big things for us as a team, you could just see that.”
Spencer neutralized a bases-loaded threat in the bottom of the sixth inning, keeping the score 5-4. Spencer recorded back-to-back strikeouts and induced a groundout to escape the jam, sending the Ducks into the top of the seventh with their season on the line.
With a diving catch by Alex Cutonilli, the game ended with Saint Mary’s advancing to its first Regional championship final since 2022, as Version 8 of Ducks softball came to a close.
“I love this team,” Lombardi said. “ Everything we’ve asked for this year, they’ve given to us, and we never wavered. This group of seniors is truly special — regardless of how many years they’ve been here, they gave us their hearts. They’ve touched this program.”