Oregon softball’s pitchers may have returned to the circle in Rosemont, Illinois in their nightmares after allowing 11 runs in the series opener against Northwestern, but when Lyndsey Grein and Taylour Spencer returned for game two, they combined for a one-hit shutout in a 4-0 win.

Northwestern (16-15, 4-4 Big Ten) played Oregon (25-9, 6-2 Big Ten) close with three depth pitchers with ERAs over 4.00, but the Wildcats’ lineup never came close to capitalizing against Grein (3.2 IP, 0 H, 4 K) and Spencer (3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K) in peak form. The resilient team win established the Ducks’ putrid pitching and defense from the opener as an outlier, and those traits as X-factors for its success this season.

Wildcats starter Emma Blea walked three of the first four Ducks she faced to open the game, including a 10-pitch battle with Kaylynn Jones, but Stefini Ma’ake failed to cash in, grounding into a double play.

The top of the second started better with Blea drawing a flyout, but the Wildcats’ defense let her down when Taryn Ho reached on a throwing error, then Blea gave her second base with a wild pitch. Emma Cox made Northwestern pay for the mistakes with a hard-hit opposite-field double in a full count to put the Ducks ahead 1-0.

Elon Butler’s 200th career hit, a double down the left field line, sparked an Oregon rally in the next inning. Amari Harper turned on a full-count fastball over the plate for an RBI triple, and Ma’ake gave the Ducks a 3-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.

Grein navigated the first two innings without allowing a base runner, while striking out three Wildcats, but Spencer took the circle in the third, likely in an effort to keep a Northwestern lineup that thrived with an aggressive approach in the series opener off balance. Spencer cruised through her first inning of action, recording a strikeout and two groundouts in just eight pitches.

The Wildcats also opted for a new pitcher in the top of the fourth, with redshirt sophomore Signe Dohse sending the Ducks down in order.

Spencer rolled into the fourth inning with a strikeout, but walked the next batter on five pitches and faced a first-and-second jam when Northwestern catcher Emma Raye broke through to record the Wildcats’ first hit. Spencer dialed in her promising-but-inconsistent stuff to escape the inning, sending the next two Wildcats down swinging on a screwball off the plate outside and an emphatic 67 mph fastball.

Dohse walked Rylee McCoy to lead off the sixth inning, and pinch runner Elyse Kresho advanced to third base on a heads-up play when Dohse’s attempt to throw out the lead runner on Ho’s bunt got away. Kresho narrowly converted a sacrifice fly in foul territory down the first base line by Cox to give Oregon a 4-0 lead.

Grein reentered the game after Spencer recorded her sixth strikeout in 3.1 innings for the first out of the sixth. The Ducks’ ace cleared the inning with two flyouts and shut the Wildcats down in the seventh, throwing her fastball in the zone with authority to record two strikeouts and ending the game on an infield pop-up.

First pitch for the series-deciding game three is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT.