Ducks Host Spartans with Sights Set on Big Ten Title

THIS WEEK
No. 3 Oregon will play for the 2025 Big Ten title when it hosts Michigan State in the final series of the regular season. The Ducks hold a one-game lead on No. 6 UCLA with three games remaining. Oregon has already clinched a bye for next week's Big Ten Tournament at Purdue. The Ducks and Spartans will play Friday night at 6 p.m. (B1G+), Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The last two games of the series will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

SIX SENIORS TO BE HONORED SUNDAY
Oregon will recognize six seniors in a postgame ceremony on Sunday. Those playing their final regular season games at Jane Sanders Stadium this weekend include pitcher Staci Chambers, catcher Abby Mulvey, shortstop Paige Sinicki and outfielders Kai Luschar, Kedre Luschar and Dez Patmon.

NUMBERS TELL THE STORY OF OREGON'S GLORY
45-5 - Oregon's 45-5 record is tied for the program's best ever through 50 games.
35 - Oregon is 35-0 when it hits a home run in a game and 10-5 when it doesn't.
15 - Teams in the Top 25 with 15 road wins: Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida, Duke.
10 - Oregon is the only team in the NCAA ranked in the top 10 in scoring, ERA and fielding.
.850 - Oregon is a nation-best 17-3 (.850) against teams in the RPI Top 50.
15 - Rylee McCoy's 15th HR of the year (4/26 at Indiana) broke the UO freshman record.
26 - Lyndsey Grein leads the NCAA with 26 wins.

GREIN, KEDRE LUSCHAR NAMED TO NATIONAL POY LIST
Oregon pitcher Lyndsey Grein and outfielder Kedre Luschar were announced as two of the top 25 finalists for USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year. They are the sixth and seventh Ducks to be named to the USA Softball Top 25 and the first since Cheridan Hawkins in 2015. Grein leads the nation with 26 wins and is in the top 15 nationally in earned run average (1.52, 11th), strikeouts (184, 14th), WHIP (0.92, 10th) and fewest hits allowed per seven innings pitched (3.87, fourth). Against five Top 25 opponents this season, Grein is 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA. In six games, she has 33 strikeouts, and allowed 12 hits and no runs in 28.0 innings. Luschar has hit .333 or better in all seven conference series (.857 vs. Rutgers, .363 vs. Minnesota, .444 vs. Michigan and UCLA, .375 vs. Illinois, .364 vs. Indiana and .333 vs. Washington). She is a perfect 25-for-25 in stolen bases for a 1.000 percentage which leads the NCAA. Luschar leads the Ducks in both doubles (14) and triples (four).

DUCKS PACE BIG TEN IN PITCHING
Oregon leads the Big Ten in earned run average (2.10) and is fifth nationally.

SINICKI SHORTSTOP STARTS
Paige Sinicki has started 179 consecutive games at shortstop for the Ducks.

ELITE LEVEL DEFENSE
Defense has been a hallmark of coach Melyssa Lombardi's program since day one. The Ducks lead the Big Ten and third nationally in fielding at .983. Last season, the Ducks were again one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Ducks were 24th nationally and fourth in the Pac-12 and in fielding percentage (.974). In 2022, Oregon led the Pac-12 and ranked 10th nationally with a .977 fielding percentage. That mark tied the program record set the year before (2021).

SIMPLY THE BEST IN ALL THREE PHASES OF THE GAME
The Ducks are the only team in the nation ranked in the national top 10 in scoring, ERA and fielding. Oregon is third in scoring (7.96 runs per game), fifth in ERA (2.10) and third in fielding percentage (.983).

TWO STOLEN BASE RECORDS FALL
Two program season stolen base records have fallen this season. The Ducks now have 150 steals as a team (previous record: 126, 2007). Kai Luschar now has 49 stolen bases (previous record: 41 by Suzie Barnes, 2007). Luschar is third on the Big Ten single-season list - three out of second and 10 back of first. As a team, the Ducks are third on the Big Ten top 10 list. Luschar has 97 career steals and is tied for second all time at Oregon.

WE'VE GOT THE POWER
The Ducks are 16th nationally in home runs with 69 and ninth nationally in RBI (352).

LEADERS OF THE PACK
The Ducks rank in the Big Ten's top five in 11 different offensive categories. Oregon is pacing the league in steals, steals per game and sacrifice flies. The Ducks are second in batting average, hits and triples, third in RBI and scoring and fourth in on-base percentage and walks.

SISTER ACT
Starting outfielders Kai Luschar (LF) and Kedre Luschar (CF) have combined for 128 hits, 98 runs and 74 stolen bases. Kedre leads the team in doubles (14) and batting average (.461). Kai leads the NCAA with a program-record 49 steals. Both are seniors, though Kai, a fifth-year senior, is a year older.

MCCOY FIFTH DUCK TO BE NAMED NFCA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 25
Rylee McCoy has been named to the NFCA's Freshman of the Year Top 25 list. She is just the fifth Duck to make the NFCA's Top 25 list. Nationally among all freshmen, McCoy is third in slugging percentage (.870), sixth in home runs (14) and ninth in batting average (.417). She tied the UO freshman home run record with her 14th last weekend against No. 6 UCLA. Among all batters in the Big Ten, McCoy is ninth in home runs, seventh in slugging percentage and 12th in batting average. Previous Ducks named to the NFCA Freshman Top 25 include Jenna Lilley (2015), Maggie Balint (2017), Mary Iakopo (2018) and Alyssa Brito (2021).