Ducks Score Six in the Seventh to Top No. 5 UCLA

Friday, May 1

Los Angeles, CA

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

39-10, 19-3

UCLA

44-6, 19-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Oregon	0	0	0	0	2	0	6	8	13	0
UCLA	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	0

05/01/26 | Softball

Box Score #11 Oregon 8, #5 UCLA 2 Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES — No. 11 Oregon blew open a tense, 2-2 game by scoring six runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat No. 5 UCLA, 8-2, Friday at Easton Stadium.

With the win, the Ducks (39-10) moved into a tie with the Bruins for second at 19-3 in the Big Ten Conference, 1.5 games back of Nebraska, whose contest at Penn State Friday was postponed to Saturday due to weather.

Back in sunny Westwood, Stefini Ma'ake ignited the Ducks offense with a pair of home runs. Elon Butler and Rylee McCoy also homered for Oregon.

Elise Sokolsky kept the Bruins at bay until the offensive fireworks in the seventh. She allowed two runs on seven hits, and limited UCLA's record-setting power game to just one home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning. Sokolsky improved to 8-2 on the season and is 4-0 since returning from injury on April 18.

"These guys talked about the importance of starting fast, staying fast, and finishing fast," said coach Melyssa Lombardi. "I thought Elise was brilliant on the mound. I thought our defense was excellent and just loved the timely hitting and, and the power that we showed throughout the lineup today."

How It Happened: The Bruins took a 1-0 lead with two-outs in the bottom of the first. Rylee Slimp walked and came home on Aleena Garcia's double. But Emma Cox ended the threat by picking Garcia off at second. It was the sixth runner Cox has picked off this season.

The Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth, but could not cash in. Sokolsky picked up her offense with a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth.

"I think my big goal was to go out there and just keep my team in it," said Sokolsky. "I'm just going to do whatever I could, to keep them from putting runs on the board and whatever I could to help my team."

Butler and Ma'ake both hit solo home runs in the top of the fifth to give Oregon a 2-1 lead. Butler ripped the first pitch she saw down the line in left for her career-high tying 17^th homer of the season. Two outs later, Ma'ake launched a 1-1 pitch out to left center. It was Ma'ake's seventh home run of the season.

The Bruins tied things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth on Jolyna Lamar's solo home run.

After another 1-2-3 inning from Sokolsky in the bottom of the sixth – her third of the game, Oregon shifted into high gear, scoring six runs on six hits in the top of the seventh.

Butler led off with a double and advanced to third on Amari Harper's single. Emma Cox delivered the go-ahead RBI with a single into center that scored Butler for a 3-2 lead.

Ma'ake drilled the first pitch she saw the opposite way out to right center. Her eighth home run of the season gave Oregon a 6-2 advantage.

"I think at the plate I was just saying hit the ball hard, it's going to go somewhere, and I think my plan worked," said Ma'ake.

The Ducks were not done scoring in the inning. Pinch-hitter Addison Amaral singled and McCoy blasted a 1-0 pitch deep over the wall in left that made it 8-2. Lyndsey Grein retired all three batters she faced in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Notable: It was Oregon's 19^th come-from-behind win of the season … The Ducks snapped the Bruins' 15-game winning streak … It was just the sixth loss of the season for UCLA (44-6) … It was Oregon's first win at UCLA since 2019.

Record Book: Butler tied a couple of long-standing school records on Friday. Her double leading off the seventh was her 18^th of the season, which tied the record set by Missy Coe in 1999. The same hit also tied Butler for the season record in total bases, 138, set by Jenn Salling in 2007. She now owns or shares three season records: doubles, total bases and extra base hits (38). Butler also moved into a tie for third on the single-season home runs list with 17. Additionally, she is now seventh on the single-season RBI list with 57 and seventh on the runs list with 59.

Oregon Single-Season Doubles
1.           18          Missy Coe, 1999
              18          Elon Butler, 2026
3.           17          Kedre Luschar, 2025
              17          Samantha Pappas, 2012
              17          Kaylan Howard, 2012

Oregon Single-Season Total Bases
#            TBs         Player    Year
1.           138        Jenn Salling          2007
              138        Elon Butler           2026
3.           133        Nikki Udria           2016

Oregon Single-Season Extra Base Hits
1.           38          Elon Butler, 2026
2.           32          Rylee McCoy, 2025
3.           31          3 tied

Quotable
Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi...
"I thought they just stayed the course, you know, we know that we're not going to be able to come here and just have one big inning. We're going to have to have multiple innings, great defense, great pitching, and I just thought all three cylinders were firing today."

Pitcher Elise Sokolsky...
"I knew that we were gonna break through at some point. I couldn't tell you if I had like a specific pin on whenever it was gonna happen, but I knew that our offense was gonna come through for us. I just trust them that much."

1B Stefini Ma'ake on Elise Sokolsky...
"I just go back to the UW series of being behind her, shutting them down. It doesn't have to be a strikeout as long as you just trust your defense. It was kind of exciting to see her get so excited, and just do her "celly" of ripping her mask off."

Up Next: Game two between Oregon and UCLA will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network).