The NCAA logo plastered on the walls of Jane Sanders Stadium can only mean one thing: it’s time for postseason softball. Marcus Mariota, Oregon football legend, and Jade Carey, a gold medal gymnast, were just two of the many stars in attendance at the Lion’s Den to watch the stars on the diamond light up the field in a dominant battle on Friday afternoon.
The Eugene Regional kicked off with Stanford knocking off Binghamton, but then it was time for the host team to take the field. The No. 16 Oregon Ducks (48-7, 19-3 Big Ten) took on the Weber State Wildcats (28-31, 8-7 Big Sky) in their opening game of the tournament, beating them 8-0 in five innings.
Oregon starting pitcher Lyndsey Grein (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB) began the game with two strikeouts while stranding one runner at first base in the top of the first inning, setting the tone for the game on the defensive front.
In the bottom of the first inning, Rylee McCoy was the one who set the tone on the offensive front for the Ducks, hitting a solo home run, her 18th of the season. Oregon led 1-0 after the first inning.
“I wanted to start fast for my team,” McCoy said postgame. “What Lyndsey started for the defense, I wanted to start for the offense.”
The top of the second inning saw Grein continue her dominance from the circle, picking up her third, fourth, and fifth strikeouts of the day. She went three up and three down, making quick work of the inning.
Weber State starting pitcher Cali McCraw (3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 0 K, 2 BB) caught a line out off the bat of Emma Cox in the bottom of the second inning. The Wildcats’ defense got hot, with Oregon going three up and three down.
The top of the third inning was more of the routine for Grein, retiring her sixth and seventh batters of the day. Kedre Luschar tracked a fly ball for the final out of the inning.
Weber State’s defense kept the Ducks limited in the bottom of the third inning, but Kai Luschar stole second base, becoming the career leader at Oregon in stolen bases with 103.
Oregon kept the Wildcats scoreless in the top of the fourth inning, going three up three down, to make quick work of them.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw the Ducks’ offense heat up with a Stefini Ma’ake hit to the warning track, bringing two runs home and making it to second base. Dezianna Patmon followed it up with a home run into right center field, bringing pinch runner Elyse Kresho home to make it a 5-0 game.
After the Patmon home run, Weber State decided it was time for a pitching change, bringing in Brooke Merrill (1 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB) for McCraw. Merrill gave the Wildcats their first strikeout of the game, retiring Katie Flannery. However, the pitching change didn’t change the offensive power of Oregon, loading the bases, but stranded all three runners at the end of the inning.
The top of the fifth inning brought Grein her eighth and ninth punchouts of the game, keeping the momentum rolling for the Ducks.
Oregon put runners on the corners at the bottom of the fifth, and with Ma’ake up to bat, Kedre Luschar stole home to make it a 6-0 lead for the Ducks. Ma’ake advanced pinch runner Presley Lawton to third with a flyout, and Patmon brought her home off a double to right center field. The lead grew to seven, and one run away from the mercy rule.
Kai Luschar singled and brought Patmon home to win the game and end it on a run-rule victory, 8-0.
Oregon took the game in dominant fashion on both the offensive and defensive fronts and bounced back after a disappointing Big Ten conference tournament.
The Eugene Regional will continue tomorrow afternoon at Jane Sanders Stadium, with Oregon taking on Stanford, a former Pac-12 foe, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and a berth to the regional finals on the line, followed by two elimination games.
“Every day is just another day to play together,” Patmon reflected.