EUGENE, ORE. — Oregon softball hosted its first tournament of the year, the Oregon Classic, sweeping a doubleheader against Stetson and Idaho State on Friday. The No. 17 Ducks came out hot in their first game, scoring double-digits en route to a 10-1 win, only allowing one hit to Stetson. They played a nail-biter in the second game, defeating Idaho State 4-3 in walk-off fashion.
As the flags of every country waved in the background, Jane Sanders Stadium was lit up by the rare February sun, setting the stage for Oregon to come away with a pair of wins.
Game 1: Oregon 10, Stetson 1
Star senior ace Lindsey Grein started the first game in the circle for the Ducks (10-6). Opposing her in the circle for Stetson (13-4) was Hayley Arnold.
The Ducks jumped on Arnold quickly when, with two runners on, Elon Butler lined a double to the left-center field fence to score both runners. Butler scored later in the inning on a fake double steal; Emma Cox drew the throw to second, and Butler trotted home easily. With the Ducks up three runs, Grein came out in the bottom of the second and struck out the side, with all batters going down swinging.
The Duck's bats stayed hot in the bottom of the second after back-to-back walks chased Arnold from the game. New pitcher Caitlin Kulczyski walked another to load the bases. Butler came up for the second time; she crushed the ball on the same path as her first hit. This time it went 20 feet further for a grand slam and her sixth RBI of the game, tying her career high.
“Yeah, I love playing here,” Butler said of the environment at The Jane.
Grein continued her dominance in the circle, striking out the side for the second inning in a row in the third. She brought her total for the day to eight strikeouts. The dominance continued for the Ducks' bats as well, as after a Taryn Ho single, Addison Amaral lifted a moonshot over the left-field fence. Her two-run home run gave Oregon a 9-0 lead. Grein kept on her roll in the fourth, retiring the Stetson hitters one-two-three.
“Love the way she attacks batters,” Butler said of her ace. “The confidence and aura she has on the mound is undefeated.”
In the bottom of the inning, Braiesey Rosa singled home another run, continuing Oregon's streak of scoring in every inning, as they led 10-0. The Ducks opted to go with Rowan Thompson to close out the game, taking out Grein after she went four scoreless innings, allowing no base runners and striking out eight. Thompson worked around an Amber Chumley solo home run to close the game out for the Ducks, who won 10-1.
“Its enjoyable, we love playing this because it's so competitive,” Grein said of her team’s camaraderie.
Game 2: Oregon 4, Idaho State 3
Game 2 saw the Ducks take on the Idaho State Bengals (8-8). This was the first time these teams played since 1983, when the head coach of the Ducks, Melyssa Lombardi, was just nine years old.
The Ducks started redshirt-senior Elise Sokolsky; pitching for Idaho State was the lefty Kasey Aguinaga. The first inning saw both teams go down hitless, with each pitcher locating their offerings well.
In the second, Idaho State’s Jenna Kearns singled on an infield hit, which marked the first runner to stay on base allowed by Oregon pitching all day. With two outs, Jenna Day smacked a two-run home run to put the Bengals up. Sokolsky escaped the inning with a strikeout.
Aguinaga pitched a clean bottom of the second, highlighted by striking out the first two batters. Sokolsky matched her, getting some help from a diving play in center on a shallow liner to Ayanna Shaw.
Going into the bottom of the third down two, the Ducks got their first hit on a Kaylynn Jones slap single. A Shaw single and a Harper groundout put runners on second and third, and Butler singled on a ball that hit the pitcher to score the Ducks' first run. Oregon attempted a double steal to tie the game, but a good play by Bengal shortstop Camryn MacDonald kept their lead.
Sokolsky logged her fourth and fifth strikeout in the fourth, as she kept Oregon only down by one. A one-out triple by Ho put Cox in an excellent position to drive her in. Cox flew a ball to center field deep enough to score Ho to tie the game.
Tied at two, the fifth started with a leadoff double by Day. Sokolsky struck out the next batter to bring her total to six, but a hit by pitch to the next hitter ended her day. Flame-throwing freshman Maddie Milhorn entered the game with runners on first and second. Pinch hitter Jaden Moore hit a laser-beam double off the center field wall to score one run before Milhorn struck out the next two hitters to escape the inning.
Aguinaga worked around a one-out walk to keep the 3-2 lead for Idaho State in the fifth. Grein entered the game for the Ducks after she was lights out versus Stetson. She lived up to expectations, striking out the side while keeping Oregon in the game.
“I want to do the best job possible to give relief because I know they will do the same,” Grein said of entering from the bullpen for her teammates.
Down by one entering the sixth, Butler smacked a leadoff double down the line. That hit chased Aguinaga from the game, who struck three for the Bengals. Marley Goluskin entered for Idaho State. She hit pinch-hitter Stefini Ma’ake, and the next batter, Ho, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position with one out. A Cox fielder's choice scored Butler to tie the game.
Grein stayed in for the seventh and continued mowing down hitters, striking out the first two she faced. The Ducks entered the bottom of the seventh with a chance to walk it off, but Goluskin worked around an error, sending the game to extras. The eighth inning started with a ghost runner on second.
“I didn’t feel for a second that this team panicked,” assistant coach Sam Marder said.
Grein stayed on for the eighth and worked around the ghost runner, giving the Ducks another chance to walk the game off. Presley Lawton started on second, with Butler at the dish. Butler scorched a single over the shortstop, and Lawton got the wave around third. The throw from the left beat her to the plate, but the catcher couldn't corral it. The Jane exploded with cheers as the umpire signaled safe. The Ducks walked off Idaho State, beating them 4-3 in a thriller. The hero of the game was Butler.
“We just stuck to our process,” she said afterwards. “Hitting the ball hard and having competitive at-bats.”
Marder had high praise for the hero.
“I love that she's on our side now,” she said of Butler’s walk-off. “She wants that moment at the end as much as anyone.”
Up next, both teams will play again Saturday, Feb. 28. Oregon will face Stetson at 3:30 p.m. and then right after take on Samford at 6 p.m. Idaho State will face Stetson at 10 a.m and then Samford at 12:30 p.m. All games will be streamed on KWVA.