In other years for other teams, a late-season trip to the Midwest could be seen as an opportunity for a let-down performance.
That caveat did not come to fruition in No. 5 Oregon’s (44-5, 17-2 Big Ten ) 9-7 win over Indiana (28-16, 8-10 Big Ten). The victory capped off the Ducks’ fifth sweep of conference play — and it wasn’t easy.
After falling behind by as many as six, Indiana came storming back within two runs to almost tie the game. It wasn’t until Staci Chambers struck out Josie Bird with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh that Duck fans could exhale as that disaster was avoided.
With the sun out again and the Ducks seemingly adjusted to the Midwest, Oregon got off to a blistering start Wednesday.
Four-straight singles from Rylee McCoy, Emma Cox, Stefini Ma’ake and Dez Patmon helped the Ducks get off to an early 3-0 lead.
The Ducks tacked on one more in the second on a Kedre Luschar triple. Then, RBI knocks from McCoy and Cox in the fourth helped swell the lead even more.
Indiana, however, eventually answered back.
The Hoosiers scored one in the second and one in the third off starter Elise Sokolksy, before tagging Lyndsey Grein for an uncharacteristic five runs over her 1.2 innings of work.
The reason for Grein’s struggles was simple — she just got hit hard. Of the 11 batters she faced, six reached base. She also allowed a pair of homers while striking out only two.
On the other hand, Sokolksy and Chambers were terrific, pitching to contact and limiting damage well throughout their combined 5.1 innings.
A seventh-inning sac-fly from Ayanna Shaw proved to be some welcomed insurance. Still, Indiana had the go-ahead and winning runs on the bases before Chambers closed out the game in dramatic fashion.
McCoy finished the day 3-4 with a double and four RBI’s. Kai and Kedre Luschar were a combined 5-9 with four runs scored.
The win improves the Ducks’ win total to 44, which is tied for the best nationally. To do so they performed just enough; building, then almost blowing a sizable lead — another example of the late-game theatrics they likely have to rely on come playoff time.
The Ducks will remain in Indiana, taking on Notre Dame (23 – 29 – 7-17 conference) Monday at 2 p.m.
