Friday, March 21
Eugene, OR
3:00 PM
University of Oregon
27-3, 0
9
vs
1
Illinois
13-13, 0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Illinois
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
Oregon
6
0
0
0
3
9
7
0
Photo by: Jackson Fisk
Ducks Take Two From Illini
03/22/25 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. – No. 8 Oregon won two run-rule games against Illinois Saturday. The Ducks won game one – suspended Friday due to rain – 9-1 and routed the Fighting Illini 14-0 in game two. Both contests were five inning games.
Oregon jumped on Illinois early twice. The Ducks scored six runs in the first inning of game one, and then put up and eight-spot in the bottom of the first in game two.
The Ducks hit four home runs on Saturday, one each off the bat of Katie Flannery, Dezianna Patmon, Braiesey Rosa and Rylee McCoy, while four Duck pitchers combined to hold the Illini to one run on three hits over the two games.
With the wins, Oregon's 28-3 start is the program's best 31-game mark since going a program-record 35-0 to open the 2017 season. Oregon, 4-1 in the Big Ten, is a half-game behind UCLA and Northwestern, both 4-0, for first place in the conference.
"I think we kind of knew going into it that, we can do anything, and playing the preseason teams that we played, I think it set us up really well for the Big 10," said McCoy. "I always say it, but like a faceless opponent mentality. That's what we have and we just want to stay true ourselves, and It doesn't really matter who we're playing."
How It Happened (Game 1) — Oregon 9, Illinois 1: The Ducks won a game that started on Friday, but was suspended in the third inning due to rain before being completed Saturday.
Before the rain delay, Oregon scored six runs in the first inning Friday.
Kai Luschar led off with an infield single and stole second base, her 33rd steal of the season. Paige Sinicki's double brought the first run of the game home.
Flannery followed with her fourth home run in the last five games. She lifted a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left for her eighth home run of the year.
One out later after Kedre Luschar walked and stole second – her 14th steal of the season, Patmon launched a moon shot over the netting in left center field. Her seventh home run of the season measured out at 262 feet.
Rosa hit Oregon's third home run of the inning, going the opposite way to right field, and the Ducks led 6-0 after one inning.
When the game resumed Saturday, Illinois led off the fifth inning with a solo home run – the Illini's only run of the day. The Ducks closed out the game with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Patmon walked and Stefini Ma'ake singled. Elyse Kresho ran for Patmon and Regan Legg ran for Ma'ake. Rosa lined a single into center field that scored Kresho. The next batter, Kaylynn Jones, dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, but the catcher's throw to first sailed down the right field line, allowing both Legg and Rosa to score and end the game via the run rule.
Lyndsey Grein gave up one run on two hits and struck out three to earn her NCAA-leading 15th win of the season against one loss.
"I just love her consistency," said coach Melyssa Lombardi. "I love how competitive she is, all of them, you know, for us to do what we want to do we need a staff, and it was really cool to just see everybody throw today.
"So I just love the consistency she's giving us. We will definitely take the strikeouts and all of that, but if these guys can give us consistency and to know what to expect, this defense has got them."
How It Happened (Game 2) — Oregon 14, Illinois 0: After scoring six runs in the first inning of game one, the Ducks topped that with an eight-run first in game two.
Kai Luschar led off the inning with an infield single and stole second. Sinicki and Flannery both walked to load the bases.
McCoy dropped a double down the line in right field to score both Kai Luschar and Sinicki. Patmon walked and Ma'ake's sacrifice fly brought Flannery home to make it 3-0.
Rosa walked to reload the bases and Jones followed with another free pass to force in a run.
Kai Luschar drove in two runs with a single to make it 6-0 and then Sinicki followed with another hit that scored two more runs for an 8-0 lead.
The Ducks tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second.
McCoy led off with her 11th home run of the season. She became the first Duck freshman to hit 11 home runs since Jenn Salling had 14 in 2007.
"I didn't know that," said McCoy. "That's awesome. I don't really know what my stats are, how many home runs I hit or anything. But that's awesome."
Kedre Luschar continued the inning with a double and Patmon and Ma'ake both walked to load the bases. A wild pitch brought Kedre Luschar home with the Ducks' 10th run of the game.
Jones singled back up the middle to score Patmon. Another wild pitch brought Oregon's 12th run of the game home. Sinicki's sacrifice fly scored Jones to make it 13-0.
Oregon's final tally of the game also came via a sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Patmon flew out to center to score Flannery.
Elise Sokolsky struck out three in three shutout innings to pick her eighth win of the season. Taylour Spencer went the next inning and a third, giving up a single. Staci Chambers, who had been out since the first week of the season, came out of the pen for the final two outs. She struck out the first batter she faced on three pitches in her Jane Sanders Stadium debut.
McCoy was 3-for-3 with three RBI in game two, while Kai Luschar was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two stolen bases.
Steals Update: Kai Luschar had three steals to jump to fourth on the UO single-season list with 35. She's tied with Janie Takeda (2015). Luschar is one stolen base out of third and three out of second. On the team list, the Ducks added five steals to their season total as the 2025 squad passed the 2017 team (103 steals) for third on the season list with 105.
Oregon Single Season Steals - Individual
1. 41, Suzie Barnes (2007)
2. 38, Sari-Jane Jenkins (2007)
3. 36, Marnie McCall (1992)
t4. 35, Kai Luschar (2025)
t4. 35, Janie Takeda (2015)
Oregon Single Season Steals - Team
1. 126 (2007)
2. 110 (2008)
3. 105 (2025)
4. 103 (2017)
"Oh, it's crazy. The speed is insane," said Patmon. "Like, I've never been a part of a program that, just like, has the natural athleticism of everybody, and then, just like the work that we put into be fast. It shows on the field, and it really is just our extra secret weapon that we have."
Notable: Sinicki made her 159th and 160th consecutive starts at shortstop … She had a hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to a career-high six games … These were the Ducks' first games against Illinois since 2017.
Quotable:
Head coach Melyssa Lombardi on seeing pitcher Staci Chambers return to the field for the first time since week one
"It gave me chills. I was standing out there just watching Taylor (Spencer), nodding to her to come replace her. I thought it was super cool. I just thank the fans for the celebration that they gave, you know, the cheers that they gave her to take the mound, just all the way around, was really cool."
Up Next: The series with Illinois concludes in a nonconference game Sunday at noon (B1G+).
- www.GoDucks.com -
Oregon jumped on Illinois early twice. The Ducks scored six runs in the first inning of game one, and then put up and eight-spot in the bottom of the first in game two.
The Ducks hit four home runs on Saturday, one each off the bat of Katie Flannery, Dezianna Patmon, Braiesey Rosa and Rylee McCoy, while four Duck pitchers combined to hold the Illini to one run on three hits over the two games.
With the wins, Oregon's 28-3 start is the program's best 31-game mark since going a program-record 35-0 to open the 2017 season. Oregon, 4-1 in the Big Ten, is a half-game behind UCLA and Northwestern, both 4-0, for first place in the conference.
"I think we kind of knew going into it that, we can do anything, and playing the preseason teams that we played, I think it set us up really well for the Big 10," said McCoy. "I always say it, but like a faceless opponent mentality. That's what we have and we just want to stay true ourselves, and It doesn't really matter who we're playing."
How It Happened (Game 1) — Oregon 9, Illinois 1: The Ducks won a game that started on Friday, but was suspended in the third inning due to rain before being completed Saturday.
Before the rain delay, Oregon scored six runs in the first inning Friday.
Kai Luschar led off with an infield single and stole second base, her 33rd steal of the season. Paige Sinicki's double brought the first run of the game home.
Flannery followed with her fourth home run in the last five games. She lifted a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left for her eighth home run of the year.
One out later after Kedre Luschar walked and stole second – her 14th steal of the season, Patmon launched a moon shot over the netting in left center field. Her seventh home run of the season measured out at 262 feet.
Rosa hit Oregon's third home run of the inning, going the opposite way to right field, and the Ducks led 6-0 after one inning.
When the game resumed Saturday, Illinois led off the fifth inning with a solo home run – the Illini's only run of the day. The Ducks closed out the game with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Patmon walked and Stefini Ma'ake singled. Elyse Kresho ran for Patmon and Regan Legg ran for Ma'ake. Rosa lined a single into center field that scored Kresho. The next batter, Kaylynn Jones, dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, but the catcher's throw to first sailed down the right field line, allowing both Legg and Rosa to score and end the game via the run rule.
Lyndsey Grein gave up one run on two hits and struck out three to earn her NCAA-leading 15th win of the season against one loss.
"I just love her consistency," said coach Melyssa Lombardi. "I love how competitive she is, all of them, you know, for us to do what we want to do we need a staff, and it was really cool to just see everybody throw today.
"So I just love the consistency she's giving us. We will definitely take the strikeouts and all of that, but if these guys can give us consistency and to know what to expect, this defense has got them."
How It Happened (Game 2) — Oregon 14, Illinois 0: After scoring six runs in the first inning of game one, the Ducks topped that with an eight-run first in game two.
Kai Luschar led off the inning with an infield single and stole second. Sinicki and Flannery both walked to load the bases.
McCoy dropped a double down the line in right field to score both Kai Luschar and Sinicki. Patmon walked and Ma'ake's sacrifice fly brought Flannery home to make it 3-0.
Rosa walked to reload the bases and Jones followed with another free pass to force in a run.
Kai Luschar drove in two runs with a single to make it 6-0 and then Sinicki followed with another hit that scored two more runs for an 8-0 lead.
The Ducks tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second.
McCoy led off with her 11th home run of the season. She became the first Duck freshman to hit 11 home runs since Jenn Salling had 14 in 2007.
"I didn't know that," said McCoy. "That's awesome. I don't really know what my stats are, how many home runs I hit or anything. But that's awesome."
Kedre Luschar continued the inning with a double and Patmon and Ma'ake both walked to load the bases. A wild pitch brought Kedre Luschar home with the Ducks' 10th run of the game.
Jones singled back up the middle to score Patmon. Another wild pitch brought Oregon's 12th run of the game home. Sinicki's sacrifice fly scored Jones to make it 13-0.
Oregon's final tally of the game also came via a sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Patmon flew out to center to score Flannery.
Elise Sokolsky struck out three in three shutout innings to pick her eighth win of the season. Taylour Spencer went the next inning and a third, giving up a single. Staci Chambers, who had been out since the first week of the season, came out of the pen for the final two outs. She struck out the first batter she faced on three pitches in her Jane Sanders Stadium debut.
McCoy was 3-for-3 with three RBI in game two, while Kai Luschar was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two stolen bases.
Steals Update: Kai Luschar had three steals to jump to fourth on the UO single-season list with 35. She's tied with Janie Takeda (2015). Luschar is one stolen base out of third and three out of second. On the team list, the Ducks added five steals to their season total as the 2025 squad passed the 2017 team (103 steals) for third on the season list with 105.
Oregon Single Season Steals - Individual
1. 41, Suzie Barnes (2007)
2. 38, Sari-Jane Jenkins (2007)
3. 36, Marnie McCall (1992)
t4. 35, Kai Luschar (2025)
t4. 35, Janie Takeda (2015)
Oregon Single Season Steals - Team
1. 126 (2007)
2. 110 (2008)
3. 105 (2025)
4. 103 (2017)
"Oh, it's crazy. The speed is insane," said Patmon. "Like, I've never been a part of a program that, just like, has the natural athleticism of everybody, and then, just like the work that we put into be fast. It shows on the field, and it really is just our extra secret weapon that we have."
Notable: Sinicki made her 159th and 160th consecutive starts at shortstop … She had a hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to a career-high six games … These were the Ducks' first games against Illinois since 2017.
Quotable:
Head coach Melyssa Lombardi on seeing pitcher Staci Chambers return to the field for the first time since week one
"It gave me chills. I was standing out there just watching Taylor (Spencer), nodding to her to come replace her. I thought it was super cool. I just thank the fans for the celebration that they gave, you know, the cheers that they gave her to take the mound, just all the way around, was really cool."
Up Next: The series with Illinois concludes in a nonconference game Sunday at noon (B1G+).
- www.GoDucks.com -
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Grein, Lyndsey (15-1)
L: Wiles, Lauren (6-5)
Batting:
HR: Haggard, Ellie 1
RBI: Haggard, Ellie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Haggard, Ellie 1
Batting:
2B: Sinicki, Paige 1
HR: Flannery, Katie 1 ; Patmon, Dezianna 1 ; Rosa, Braiesey 1
RBI: Sinicki, Paige 1 ; Flannery, Katie 2 ; Patmon, Dezianna 2 ; Rosa, Braiesey 2
SH: Jones, Kaylynn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Luschar, Kai 1 ; Sinicki, Paige 1 ; Flannery, Katie 1 ; Luschar, Kedre 1 ; Patmon, Dezianna 1 ; Kresho, Elyse 1 ; Legg, Regan 1 ; Rosa, Braiesey 2
SB: Luschar, Kai 1 ; Luschar, Kedre 1 ; Jones, Kaylynn 1
CS: Patmon, Dezianna 1
HBP: Rosa, Braiesey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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INF
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OF
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OF
/ SoftballOF
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OF
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INF/OF
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INF
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INF/OF
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballINF
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RHP
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RHP
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