Oregon Softball Advances to Women's College World Series

Via Oregon Communications/Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — The party kept starting in The Bob.

It was the top of the seventh Saturday, Oregon softball blowing open its Super Regional clincher against Liberty, when the chant first arose from the center-field grandstand at Jane Sanders Stadium.

“O-K-C! O-K-C!”

A few minutes later, after Lyndsey Grein’s 10th strikeout finished off a 13-1 victory that did indeed send the Ducks to Oklahoma City, and after players had dusted themselves off from a postgame dogpile, they ran out to The Bob. The Ducks ran along the outfield fence, high-fiving fans along the front row, the UO seniors soaking up one last time on the field.

For the first time since 2018, Oregon is headed to the Women’s College World Series.

“It’s starting to feel real,” senior shortstop Paige Sinicki said at the postgame press conference, after a 3-for-5 day that included a solo homer for Oregon’s first run of the day, and a three-run triple during a seven-run exclamation point in the seventh inning. “Just being able to celebrate with these girls next to me and the coaching staff that we have, it’s just awesome. We’ve been working for this for so long.”

This year’s team is “Version 7” of Oregon softball under head coach Melyssa Lombardi, who took over the program after its last trip to OKC and now has the Ducks headed back. She endured a roster rebuild after taking over, and then the trials of a pandemic. She got the Ducks back to the postseason, and then back to a Super Regional, and then helped them earn the right to host postseason play again this spring.

And now, she has Oregon softball back in the Women’s College World Series.

“It means so much, because I think of all the other versions before Version 7 that pushed hard to get us where we need to be,” Lombardi said. “This would not be possible without all the previous versions.”

The Ducks reached the WCWS for the seventh time in program history. They’ll open play Thursday in Oklahoma City against the winner of Sunday’s deciding game three of a Super Regional between UCLA and South Carolina.

Oregon’s Super Regional required no third game. After a 3-2 win in eight innings over the Flames on Friday, the Ducks dominated Saturday to win the series in two games. They’ll take a healthy dose of momentum to OKC, after a dramatic comeback to win regionals a week ago, and then the Super Regional performance.

“There will never be a ceiling for this group,” said Grein, who allowed a solo homer and a single to open Saturday’s game before retiring 19 straight. “I think we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to.”

How It Happened: The Ducks were the designated visitors for Saturday’s game, and Kai Luschar was hit by a pitch to open the evening. She stole second with one out, tying the Big Ten record with 59 stolen bases this season, but was thrown out trying to steal third to end the inning.

Liberty then led off with a solo homer in the bottom of the first, followed by a single. But after only pitching into the third inning Friday, Grein stayed in the circle the whole way Saturday and didn’t allow another baserunner until there was one out in the bottom of the seventh.

The support of Elise Sokolsky, Staci Chambers and the rest of the UO staff, Grein said, “just makes it so freeing to pitch. On top of that you add an outstanding defense and outstanding offense — my job is the easy part compared with what these guys do.”

Sinicki quickly tied the game with a solo homer to lead off the second. A bases-loaded single with two outs by Luschar scored Friday night hero Dezianna Patmon — who walked four times Saturday — and Oregon had the lead. The Ducks never felt threatened again, and the celebration at The Jane began to crescendo into the later innings.

“The fans were amazing all weekend,” Sinicki said. “Having them at The Jane was awesome and electric. Seriously, we couldn’t have done it without them. They kept us in all these ball games — the one that was tight yesterday. So, super thankful for the fans, and so glad we got to celebrate with them today as we go the World Series.”

Patmon walked again in the third, and Rylee McCoy followed with a base hit. That inning didn’t include a UO run, but McCoy later had another single during the seven-run seventh, in her return to action six days after taking a line drive to the face in regionals.

The crowd roared pregame when McCoy was announced as a starter, and chanted her name when she entered the box for her first at-bat.

“It was amazing,” said McCoy, a finalist for national freshman of the year. “I mean, I don’t ever want to take a game off, so being back standing in the box and everyone giving me a standing ovation and cheering for me, I got chills. I’m so appreciative of the Duck fans and the community — all of your thoughts and prayers, like, I really feel them. And I appreciate this school so much.”

Consecutive doubles to start the fourth by Kaylynn Jones and Katie Flannery put Oregon up 3-1. In the fifth, Sinicki singled and stole second, Patmon walked again and two batters later Emma Cox blasted her eighth homer of the year for a 6-1 lead.

The seventh saw the Ducks load the bases with one out, before Jones singled in a run to open the floodgates. The bases were loaded with two out when a parade of UO seniors stepped into the box for the final time at Jane Sanders Stadium — Luschar singled in a run, her sister Kedre Luschar singled in two more, a walk re-loaded the bases and Sinicki cleared them with a triple in her swan song at The Jane.

When Grein ended the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout, the celebration was on. This Oregon softball team has grown in so many ways over the course of the season. Now, the Ducks will see if they can keep it rolling in OKC.

“The hardest thing about the World Series is getting there,” Lombardi said. “That is the hardest thing. From there, you just get to play. … And what I’m excited about is that this group is not just happy to be there. They’re excited to go and compete.”

Notable: Oregon’s 13 runs were a program record in the Super Regional round. … Kai Luschar tied the Big Ten record of 59 stolen bases held by Washington’s Angie Marzetta (1993). … Sinicki’s stolen base was No. 63 in her career, tied for eighth in UO history with Haley Cruse. … Jones tied her career high with four hits.

Up Next: The Ducks open play in the Women’s College World Series on Thursday.