EUGENE, Ore. — A grey and cloudy Wednesday afternoon did not deter the No. 12 Oregon Ducks from shining bright in their third and final matchup against Oregon State, coming away with a 7-2 victory. The Ducks entered with resounding confidence, riding an 11-game win streak and coming off a series sweep against the rival Washington Huskies.
Oregon State looked to bounce back from a tough series sweep against Saint Mary’s University.
Oregon (36-9, 16-2) and Oregon State (17-30, 5-7) have met 205 times in their histories; Oregon leads the series (108-96-1) and has come out on top in the two matchups throughout the season.
Oregon got the party started early, shutting out the Beavers in their first at bat and succeeding their stellar defense with even better offense.
In the bottom of the first, the Ducks pinned three runs on the Beavers’ tails quickly, courtesy of a two-run double from Emma Cox that sent home Elon Butler and Amari Harper, and a Rylee McCoy single to left field that allowed Cox to reach home herself.
“I thought Rylee was really, really good,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “She had two base hits, with an RBI today.”
In the top of the second, the Ducks’ defense bent but refused to break. After two singles from Morgan Howey and Mya Harrison, Lombardi paid a visit to the mound to have a chat with her starting pitcher. Whatever she said did the trick, as Oregon would close the top of the inning with a caught pop-up and an Elise Sokolsky strikeout.
Ayanna Shaw would be left on third after a monster triple to the center wall in the bottom of the second.
After an uneventful third inning, Sokolsky stepped back into the circle with a fire in her eyes, allowing one single before dismantling the next three Oregon State batters.
“I know my offense, they’ve been fighting for me all game,” Sokolsky said of her attitude. “So just to be able to go out there and really shut it down for them so that they can get back out there on offense and score runs.”
Sokolsky (7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 0 BB) pitched a complete game and led the Oregon defense with confidence and poise.
“I think it was great for her to have a complete game,” Lombardi said when asked about her pitcher's performance. “I loved what she did this past week, and you could see her ball really move.”
The bottom of the fifth inning saw more Duck dominance. The inning began with a heater down the right field line from Harper (3 AB, 2 H, 1 R), who wouldn't have to wait long before Cox (3 AB, 1H, 2RBI) allowed her to bolt home on an Oregon State error.
Stefini Ma’ake (3 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI) continued the Oregon run with an RBI double to center field, sending home Cox and doubling her team's lead. The explosion of runs prompted Oregon State head coach Laura Berg to change pitchers, swapping Haydn Milley (4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER) for Bailey Murray (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER).
Oregon State — feeling the game slip out of its hands — brought high energy into the sixth inning. A Lici Campbell (3 AB, 2 H) single got the bats rolling before Paige Bambarger advanced to first on a Duck error. With two on base, Harrison knocked one right to Sokolsky, who missed the throw to second, allowing two Oregon State runners to reach home plate.
“Each pitch has its own life, and it passes,” Said Sokolosky. “So whenever something that doesn’t go our way happens, I like to leave it behind.”
Oregon would recover, ending the inning when third baseman Katie Flannery fielded a ricochet off Sokolsky’s glove to nail Kaylie Stauffer at first.
Butler (4 AB, 2 R, 2 H) brought Jane Sanders Stadium back to life in the bottom of the sixth, bashing a Murray pitch past the left field wall and all but guaranteeing a Duck victory.
“I thought Elon getting that last one was great,” Lombardi said. “I thought it made a huge difference going into the final inning.
As a cool nighttime breeze swept over Eugene and the final Oregon State pop-fly was caught, Oregon extended its home record to an impressive 19-1. They also satisfied their season sweep over their dam-constructing rivals in a 7-2 victory.
The Ducks return to Jane Sanders Stadium on Friday, April 24, at 6 PM for a weekend series against the visiting Ohio State Buckeyes to close out the final home stretch of the regular season.