EUGENE, Ore. – No. 20 Oregon took the field at Jane Sanders Stadium on Sunday for its final game of the Oregon Classic against Samford. Early adversity was the story for both the Ducks and the Samford Bulldogs on this first day of March. After a weekend of unpredictable weather, Sunday’s first pitch was threatened with a delay by constant Eugene rain throughout the early morning. But when the tarp finally came off, both schools were adamant about getting this all-important matchup started. Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi especially pushed for this game to get going.
“I really wanted to figure out for us to play,” she stated. “Because this is going to show up later in the year as well, and we’re going to handle it, because we handled it well today.”
Inning number one was a long one for the second game of the day after Stetson and Idaho State wrapped up their tournaments on Sunday morning. The diamond was starting to show the amount of wear and tear a three-day tournament can have, with the circle especially showing those effects. The first few pitches included freshman pitcher Maddie Milhorn exchanging the softball multiple times. It was not a heavy rain, but the accumulation of moisture was clearly giving Milhorn some problems.
A few pitches later, Samford junior Olivia Shaw took advantage of the ballgame's chaotic opening inning, homering to left field to start the scoring. It was her third home run and 19th RBI of the year.
The game was then put in another short delay as the grounds crew brought out a torch in order to try to combat the wear and tear on the circle at the request of Milhorn and the Ducks.
Milhorn gave up a single after play resumed, which eventually led to her being pulled by Coach Lombardi. Junior Taylour Spencer replaced the freshman and was able to get the last two outs, sending Oregon’s high-powered bats out for the first time that afternoon.
After a top half of the first inning full of delays and pitching woes, the Ducks took no time getting that offense started. After a couple of early walks, sophomore Rylee McCoy looked to get back to the batting form she saw during her freshman season. She did just that, hitting a three-run homer and, more importantly, answering quickly to Samford’s early scoring. McCoy had some words to describe how she felt and what that homerun meant for her.
“So good, you guys, so good. That was oh my gosh, yeah, felt great”, she said.
The Oregon offense continued to reach base in a multitude of ways, finding itself with the bases loaded, an opportunity to extend the lead, and sophomore Stefini Ma’ake up to the plate. She drove home another run with a sac fly, and a Samford pitching error left the door open for Taryn Ho to come home. An Ayanna Shaw RBI extended the Oregon lead to four as inning one ended 6-2.
Samford starting pitcher Makinely Turner was also not able to survive the first, being replaced by freshman Reese Hickey.
After a three-up, three-down top of the second, the Ducks' offense continued their success seen all weekend. Catcher Emma Cox earned herself an RBI double while Ma’ake drove in another run with a double of her own. This led to Hickey being pulled quickly, and starting center fielder Brandi Phillips took her place. This did little to deter the Oregon offense, though, with a Shaw sac groundout putting the Ducks up 10-2.
Oregon’s defense started to match its bats in production. Headlined by a great play from infielder Kaylynn Jones and another stout inning for Spencer, there was absolutely nothing happening for the Bulldogs. After a huge weekend but a quiet day, Cal transfer senior Elon Butler reached base on a single, which was followed by an Amari Harper RBI.
A trio of RBI doubles from Ho, Remington Hewett, and Addison Amaral, as well as a Jones RBI, ended the Ducks’ aggressive afternoon. They finished the game with 18 runs on 15 hits.
Relief pitcher Rowan Thompson put the game away for Oregon, which gave Spencer the win for the afternoon and will elevate the Ducks’ record to 13-6. They will travel up the I-5 interstate to Corvallis on Wednesday for an all too familiar meeting with rivals Oregon State, while Samford will drop to 7-13 and will try to bounce back against West Georgia at home.