When the No. 8 ranked Ducks (25-2, 1-0 Big Ten) were playing in the opening weeks of the season, they were fueled by the energizing power of belief — the knowledge that they could win on any night. Even when they weren’t at their best, a mixture of energy, toughness and execution got them through the finish line.
Now at the start of Big Ten play, head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s squad has slowly gotten healthier and more experienced — two more elements that have helped turn stress-free wins, like Friday’s 9-0 pummeling of Washington (20-7, 0-1 Big Ten), into somewhat of a regular affair.
In her return from injury, Rylee McCoy blasted a homer and added three hits for Oregon, which was never really challenged by its rivals on Montlake.
Lyndsey Grein threw six shutout innings for the Ducks, whose list of reasons for optimism seems to grow by the day.
They’re close to being back to full strength. They’re getting excellent contributions from the top of the lineup, and they continue to attack lineups that seemingly have no chance against Grein.
On a day when Oregon’s three and four hitters — McCoy and Katie Flannery — combined to go 5-6 with three homers and seven RBIs, Grein showed why any run support at all could be considered superfluous.
She fanned 11 batters and allowed just five baserunners. The only real threat she faced was after back-to-back walks in the sixth, but she struck out one batter and got the next to fly out.
Offensively, the Ducks jumped on the Huskies’ pitching staff, tagging UW for 13 hits. A Kedre Luschar double followed by a Stefini Ma’ake sac-fly opened the scoring before the first of Flannery’s two homers of the day helped the Ducks add on.
Oregon led 4-0 before the Huskies tallied a hit.
Staked to that big early lead, Grein was able to do what she has throughout her young Oregon career — deal. She picked up her 14th win of the season and lowered her ERA to 0.85. The right-hander struck out all but one of UW’s starting nine.
Flannery and McCoy went back-to-back in the fifth before two RBI walks in the sixth helped Oregon end the game an inning early with the run-rule in effect.
Even against one of the hottest teams in the nation — UW entered winners of 14-straight — the Ducks continue to March on. They’ll go for a Game Two win on Saturday at noon.
