Saturday, May 3
Eugene, OR
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
46-6, 0
14
vs
0
Michigan State
16-28, 0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
Oregon
3
3
2
6
X
14
13
0
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Champs! Ducks Claim Share Of Big Ten Title
05/03/25 | Softball
Oregon softball beat Michigan State in five innings Saturday, 14-0.
EUGENE, Ore. — Version 7 brought home Big Ten title No. 6.
Oregon athletics has a half-dozen conference championships to celebrate so far in 2024-25, after seventh-year UO softball coach Melyssa Lombardi's team earned a share of the Big Ten regular-season title Saturday. With a 14-0 win in five innings over Michigan State, the No. 3 Ducks take a one-game lead over UCLA into the final day of the regular season Sunday.
The two teams could still share the regular-season Big Ten title, but Oregon can claim it outright with another win Sunday (1 p.m., Big Ten Network). And the Ducks will be the top seed in next week's conference tournament, hosted by Purdue, based on their series win over the Bruins earlier this season.
"It's unreal," said UO senior shortstop Paige Sinicki, who drove in four runs and hit her seventh homer of the season Saturday. "It's a moment I'll never forget with this team, and it's just the beginning for this group. … We're not done."
Elise Sokolsky (14-2) threw all five innings Saturday, after facing the minimum over the final five innings of Friday's loss to the Spartans. Rylee McCoy hit two home runs to extend her UO freshman record to 17 — tied for second in UO history for a player in any class — and she was one of three Ducks to drive in three runs, along with senior sisters Kai Luschar and Kedre Luschar.
Oregon (46-6, 18-3 Big Ten) also played error-free defense, after three miscues contributed to the six-run inning that fueled Michigan State's 6-4 win Friday. Lombardi said after that game she expected her team to bounce back Saturday, and they did, with a championship to show for it.
"This group, everything we've asked them to do they've gone above and beyond," Lombardi said. "Seeing how hard they work and seeing all the good things that are happening for them, I wanted them to get this."
The Ducks won their sixth conference title in program history and their first under Lombardi, and did so in their initial season in the Big Ten.
"This is unreal," McCoy said, the championship trophy on the table next to her at a postgame press conference. "Honestly, I'm just so thankful. We've worked so hard, starting from the fall and even the summer. And to have this bad boy right here, it's really, really cool."
How It Happened: After facing the minimum over the last five innings Friday, Sokolsky did so in each of the first two innings Saturday. With her first inning of work, she set the tone for the day.
"We needed to come into today and we just needed to understand what we need to do — and that was simply just play Oregon softball," said Sokolsky, who allowed three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. "So to be able to get the 1-2-3 (first) inning and to allow my offense to work, that was pretty much the main goal."
Work, the offense did. Kai Luschar walked to lead off the bottom of the first, Sinicki bunted her over and they each took an extra base on the play. A sacrifice fly by Kedre Luschar made it 1-0, and McCoy's first homer of the day pushed the lead to three.
"We just wanted to bounce back," McCoy said. "We did not play Oregon softball yesterday, and that was evident. And we met as a team, we discussed our process and what we wanted to come out like today, and we really bought into that decision. And there was no way we were letting that happen to us twice in a row."
After another shutdown inning by Sokolsky in the second, the Ducks scored three more times in the bottom of the inning. Ayanna Shaw led off with a bunt single, and a two-out bunt by Kai Luschar put runners at the corners. Luschar then stole second before Sinicki blasted a three-run homer for a 6-0 lead.
A hit batter tucked between singles by Emma Cox and Kaylynn Jones loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the third. Kai Luschar drove in two more runs with a single, and it was 8-0.
That put Oregon in position to win by run-rule in the fifth, and a six-run bottom of the fourth all but assured it. McCoy homered with one out to spark the inning.
Stefini Ma'ake followed with a single, and with two out the Ducks loaded the bases on walks to Dezianna Patmon and Katie Flannery. Jones walked to force in a run, an infield single by Kai Luschar made it 11-0, a walk to Sinicki forced in Flannery and Kedre Luschar capped the rally with a two-run single.
Sokolsky then pitched around a two-out walk in the top of the fifth, and a flyout to Kai Luschar in left field set off a jubilant on-field celebration for the newly crowned Big Ten champions of Oregon softball.
Notable: McCoy's 17 home runs are tied with Nikki Udria (2016) and Gwen Svekis (2018) for second in UO history behind Ann Marie Topps (19, 2007). ... The two-homer game by McCoy was her second of the season. … Kai Luschar's stolen base was her 51st on the season, one shy of tying for second in Big Ten single-season history. … Her three RBIs tied her career high. … Kedre Luschar's 2-for-3 day improved her average in conference play this season to .507. She has driven in a run in five straight games.
Quotable:
Senior shortstop Paige Sinicki, on when she knew this could be a championship team
"As soon as this team stepped on campus, I knew we were special. The freshmen that came in, they really had a chip on their shoulder to do something different here. And this senior class, we were here ready to lead these young ones to it. So as soon as they stepped on campus we knew this was possible, and here it is now."
Head coach Melyssa Lombardi on the significance of a championship for the program
"Once you get one, you just want to keep getting them. And that's what I love for this team. You just need to get that one, because when you do it gets addictive. You just want more. And I want them to have that feeling and understand that the stuff that they had to do was required. This is not easy, to be regular season champions; it's not easy. There's so much involved, and just to see this entire team put our team first in all of their decision making, it's why we're standing here today."
Junior pitcher Elise Sokolsky on the importance of maintaining momentum Sunday
"We've still got one more game to win tomorrow. This is awesome, and I know we won't be forgetting this for a while. But we got to go into the game tomorrow with a short-term memory."
Up Next: The Ducks wrap up the regular season by hosting the Spartans on Sunday (1 p.m., BTN).
Oregon athletics has a half-dozen conference championships to celebrate so far in 2024-25, after seventh-year UO softball coach Melyssa Lombardi's team earned a share of the Big Ten regular-season title Saturday. With a 14-0 win in five innings over Michigan State, the No. 3 Ducks take a one-game lead over UCLA into the final day of the regular season Sunday.
The two teams could still share the regular-season Big Ten title, but Oregon can claim it outright with another win Sunday (1 p.m., Big Ten Network). And the Ducks will be the top seed in next week's conference tournament, hosted by Purdue, based on their series win over the Bruins earlier this season.
"It's unreal," said UO senior shortstop Paige Sinicki, who drove in four runs and hit her seventh homer of the season Saturday. "It's a moment I'll never forget with this team, and it's just the beginning for this group. … We're not done."
Elise Sokolsky (14-2) threw all five innings Saturday, after facing the minimum over the final five innings of Friday's loss to the Spartans. Rylee McCoy hit two home runs to extend her UO freshman record to 17 — tied for second in UO history for a player in any class — and she was one of three Ducks to drive in three runs, along with senior sisters Kai Luschar and Kedre Luschar.
Oregon (46-6, 18-3 Big Ten) also played error-free defense, after three miscues contributed to the six-run inning that fueled Michigan State's 6-4 win Friday. Lombardi said after that game she expected her team to bounce back Saturday, and they did, with a championship to show for it.
"This group, everything we've asked them to do they've gone above and beyond," Lombardi said. "Seeing how hard they work and seeing all the good things that are happening for them, I wanted them to get this."
The Ducks won their sixth conference title in program history and their first under Lombardi, and did so in their initial season in the Big Ten.
"This is unreal," McCoy said, the championship trophy on the table next to her at a postgame press conference. "Honestly, I'm just so thankful. We've worked so hard, starting from the fall and even the summer. And to have this bad boy right here, it's really, really cool."
How It Happened: After facing the minimum over the last five innings Friday, Sokolsky did so in each of the first two innings Saturday. With her first inning of work, she set the tone for the day.
"We needed to come into today and we just needed to understand what we need to do — and that was simply just play Oregon softball," said Sokolsky, who allowed three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. "So to be able to get the 1-2-3 (first) inning and to allow my offense to work, that was pretty much the main goal."
Work, the offense did. Kai Luschar walked to lead off the bottom of the first, Sinicki bunted her over and they each took an extra base on the play. A sacrifice fly by Kedre Luschar made it 1-0, and McCoy's first homer of the day pushed the lead to three.
"We just wanted to bounce back," McCoy said. "We did not play Oregon softball yesterday, and that was evident. And we met as a team, we discussed our process and what we wanted to come out like today, and we really bought into that decision. And there was no way we were letting that happen to us twice in a row."
After another shutdown inning by Sokolsky in the second, the Ducks scored three more times in the bottom of the inning. Ayanna Shaw led off with a bunt single, and a two-out bunt by Kai Luschar put runners at the corners. Luschar then stole second before Sinicki blasted a three-run homer for a 6-0 lead.
A hit batter tucked between singles by Emma Cox and Kaylynn Jones loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the third. Kai Luschar drove in two more runs with a single, and it was 8-0.
That put Oregon in position to win by run-rule in the fifth, and a six-run bottom of the fourth all but assured it. McCoy homered with one out to spark the inning.
Stefini Ma'ake followed with a single, and with two out the Ducks loaded the bases on walks to Dezianna Patmon and Katie Flannery. Jones walked to force in a run, an infield single by Kai Luschar made it 11-0, a walk to Sinicki forced in Flannery and Kedre Luschar capped the rally with a two-run single.
Sokolsky then pitched around a two-out walk in the top of the fifth, and a flyout to Kai Luschar in left field set off a jubilant on-field celebration for the newly crowned Big Ten champions of Oregon softball.
Notable: McCoy's 17 home runs are tied with Nikki Udria (2016) and Gwen Svekis (2018) for second in UO history behind Ann Marie Topps (19, 2007). ... The two-homer game by McCoy was her second of the season. … Kai Luschar's stolen base was her 51st on the season, one shy of tying for second in Big Ten single-season history. … Her three RBIs tied her career high. … Kedre Luschar's 2-for-3 day improved her average in conference play this season to .507. She has driven in a run in five straight games.
Quotable:
Senior shortstop Paige Sinicki, on when she knew this could be a championship team
"As soon as this team stepped on campus, I knew we were special. The freshmen that came in, they really had a chip on their shoulder to do something different here. And this senior class, we were here ready to lead these young ones to it. So as soon as they stepped on campus we knew this was possible, and here it is now."
Head coach Melyssa Lombardi on the significance of a championship for the program
"Once you get one, you just want to keep getting them. And that's what I love for this team. You just need to get that one, because when you do it gets addictive. You just want more. And I want them to have that feeling and understand that the stuff that they had to do was required. This is not easy, to be regular season champions; it's not easy. There's so much involved, and just to see this entire team put our team first in all of their decision making, it's why we're standing here today."
Junior pitcher Elise Sokolsky on the importance of maintaining momentum Sunday
"We've still got one more game to win tomorrow. This is awesome, and I know we won't be forgetting this for a while. But we got to go into the game tomorrow with a short-term memory."
Up Next: The Ducks wrap up the regular season by hosting the Spartans on Sunday (1 p.m., BTN).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sokolsky, Elise (14-2)
L: Cassady, Carsyn (3-4)
Batting:
HR: Sinicki, Paige 1 ; McCoy, Rylee 2
RBI: Luschar, Kai 3 ; Sinicki, Paige 4 ; Luschar, Kedre 3 ; McCoy, Rylee 3 ; Jones, Kaylynn 1
SF: Luschar, Kedre 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Luschar, Kai 3 ; Sinicki, Paige 2 ; McCoy, Rylee 2 ; Ma'ake, Stefini 1 ; Legg, Regan 1 ; Shaw, Ayanna 1 ; Patmon, Dezianna 1 ; Flannery, Katie 2 ; Jones, Kaylynn 1
SB: Luschar, Kai 1
HBP: McCoy, Rylee 1 ; Patmon, Dezianna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
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