No. 18 Oregon softball cruised through the Oregon Classic last weekend. It went undefeated on the weekend, and had two run rule victories, both against the Samford University Bulldogs. The Ducks outscored opponents 44-7 and in their final game against Samford on Sunday, nine different Oregon batters had at least one RBI and seven different Ducks had an extra-base hit.

The offense was something that fans heard a lot about coming into the season. The ace of the Oregon pitching staff, Lyndsey Grein, mentioned a number of times that this lineup was the most potent and powerful line up she had ever faced.

The hype around this offensive lineup was palpable. However, when the season started, and the Ducks played tough nonconference opponents (Clemson University, University of Tennessee, Stanford, etc.), the offense did not slug its way past opponents. It started to raise the question of whether or not the offense was as potent as advertised.

Granted, in that early nonconference play, the Ducks put up some impressive games. Against then-No. 21 Liberty University, Oregon exploded for a six run sixth inning and a four run seventh, winning 10-2. Oregon also beat the University of Kentucky via run rule 9-0. But the rest of the games proved tough and ended a lot closer than one might’ve assumed.

Finally, the offense seemed to have flipped the switch in the final moments of the Mary Nutter Classic.

The Ducks offense, which had been almost completely silent the day before, clicked against then-No. 20 Duke University. The Blue Devils and Ducks fought into the eighth inning and Oregon finally shook the disease and scored five runs in the top of the eighth leading to an 11-8 win.

“There are plenty of times that you know you’re going to win, you just don’t maybe necessarily know when,” head coach Melyssa Lombardi said in media after the Duke game. “(In) what inning or what it’s going to look like, but the most important thing is that you know.”

The Ducks certainly knew that they could take care of business against the competition they faced this past week-
end. The offense showed up and showed out over the course of the five games, with no one more prevalent on the stat sheet than Elon Butler.

Butler tormented the opposition. She put up eight RBIs on day one against Stetson University and Idaho State (she also walked-off that Idaho State game) and put up another four RBIs in day two including driving in the eighth run for
a run-rule walk off win over Samford.

The rest of the team got it going as well, but no one needed it more than Rylee McCoy, who had not registered a hit since the Tennessee loss on Feb. 7. She finally snapped the slump with a double in the 8-0 win against Samford on Saturday. On Sunday, McCoy made sure to prove that she was back by driving out her first homerun of the season and logging another double on the weekend.

“So good,” McCoy said, laughing with joy and relief as she recounted how she felt after driving one out. “That was… Oh my gosh. Yeah, it felt great.”

The rest of the lineup found their groove at the Oregon Classic. Sophomore Kaylynn Jones got her first home run
of the season, Amari Harper and Ayanna Shaw peppered the gaps in the outfield and freshman Taryn Ho has been working hard at the plate and seems to be improving each passing series.

“We have just been getting closer and closer to who we are,” Lombardi said after the 18-2 win against Samford.

The Ducks may have struggled at the plate to start the season, particularly with driving runners in, but the feeling has shifted after the Duke game. The lineup shows a calm confidence out in the box, and the Oregon Classic has displayed that the early season struggles appear to be behind “Version Eight.”