A jam shot to the second baseman was the final play Oregon fans would see from their Ducks at Jane Sanders Stadium this season. Such a powerful, offensive driven team ended with a feeble fly ball. 

Katie Flannery was not to blame, though she was the final out. The offense sputtered along in the final outing of the season and left runners on base in every inning.

“I’m just heartbroken, I love this team.” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “Everything we’ve asked from them, all year long, they never wavered.”

No. 4 Oregon was the away team in Game 3, even though it was hosting the Eugene Regional. The home team was the Saint Mary’s College Gaels, who beat and ended the season of the Idaho State University Bengals and continued their tour of pain ending the Ducks season with a 5-4 Gaels win.

“Sometimes you don’t get what you want, and you don’t understand it. But it’s also setting up things that are coming down the road,” Lombardi said.

Elon Butler started the top of the first inning off with a solo shot to left field just next to the pole. After being no-hit the first game, the pent-up aggression was released with that towering shot to put the Ducks ahead 1-0 — that home run also tied the program record for home runs in a season, and her run scored off that home run set a new program record.

“I feel like I spent a lot of years in my career doubting my abilities and what I could do on the field, and this year I just said, ‘I’m going to full-send it, and I’m going to have the best year of my life,’ Butler said.

“I feel like this place just filled the void in my heart that’s been empty for a really long time.”

A base hit later and the Gaels starting pitcher, Madeline Haun, was chased for Mia Nishikawa who ended the inning with a strikeout and a foul out though a single was between the two. 

Despite that, Oregon looked like it had flipped the page from Game 2 and were off to the races early.

Taylour Spencer’s start was exactly what Oregon needed too. A solid 3.0 innings of work, and she was chased for Elise Sokolsky after surrendering two hits in the top of the fourth. She had put in another solid outing, kept Saint Mary’s off the board and was greeted to cheers and applause from the bundled up and slightly wet crowd at Jane Sanders Stadium.

“It was awesome to watch her pitch all weekend long and just really see her be confident in what she was doing,” Lombardi said. “And just wanting to do big things for us as a team.”

Butler’s shot was the only offense Oregon put up through the first three innings. With the pitching change, the Ducks were reduced to weak fly balls to the outfield and in foul territory. A trend that continued throughout the remainder of the game.

The Gaels got the tying run to third in the third. Hannah Ferguson doubled to left center field and advanced to third on a past ball from Emma Cox. Spencer wasn’t fazed and got the strikeout of Sam Buckley to keep the Ducks’ 1-0 lead intact. 

Katie Flannery hit a screaming line drive out to the first row of The Bob for a two run home run. The Ducks, as well as the rest of the competition at The Jane this weekend, were abusing the center field bleachers. The insurance runs were provided, now Spencer just had to keep the momentum going in the circle.

But the Gaels stole it away. They loaded the bases after Amari Harper couldn’t come down with a fly ball into the left field corner. She leaped but the ball clanked off her mitt for a knock. The play was scored an error. 

A groundball to Ma’ake at first careened off her mitt into shallow right center. Two Gaels came across and the once-strong Oregon lead was down to only one. The bases loaded once more on a bunt from Mia Zabat.

Camille Lara singled down the right field line and brought home the tying and go-ahead runs for the Gaels. Sokolsky got two ground balls to end the inning, but the Ducks had to battle back.

They started that battle with a Kaylynn Jones fielder’s choice, a Rylee McCoy walk and a single from Ayanna Shaw. And, with two outs and The Jane crowd stamping their feet, Taryn Ho walked to tie the game back up at 4-4.

After that, whatever momentum the Ducks took back swung back toward Saint Mary’s. Tori Cervantes tripled into the right field corner in the bottom of the fifth after Sokolsky got two quick outs. That triple scored Kiah Silva, who singled through the right side the at-bat before. 

Spencer came back out to try and hold the deficit to one run.

Another Ducks rally was in the works in the top of the sixth. With one out Harper was hit by the pitch and Ma’ake worked a walk. Emma Cox flew out and Kaylynn Jones followed suit. 

Lauren Tran pinch hit for Zabat and walked to start their half of the sixth. Camill dumped a single into left that landed on the left field line to give the Gaels two on with nobody out. Spencer was having difficulty late in the game to find her location, though a pitch clock violation strikeout gave her the first out and got her back in the right mindset. 

She finished the sixth with a ground out to Jones at second. The Ducks were still down one headed into the top of the seventh.

Shaw represented the tying run, reached on a one out single up the middle, and sparked whatever hope still coursed through The Jane. Ho struck out, but Flannery, who had already homered in the game, came to the plate with Version 8’s season hanging by a thread. 

She popped out to second base. A diving basket grab towards the circle from Alex Cutonilli sealed the season as soon as the ball hit leather. 

“It’s just tough. Sometimes the opponent is just able to do just a little bit more. We gave it our heart and soul and they [the Ducks] left it all on the field,” Lombardi said.

That was it. Oregon lost both games on Saturday and the 2026 season came to an end at Jane Sanders Stadium a quarter past 10 p.m. A cold, wet and heartbroken Ducks crowd sulked out of The Jane, knowing it had to wait nine more months to see their Ducks in action once more.