Oregon softball is going to fight every game in spite of injuries and emotional costs.
The Ducks flexed that fight with a gutsy 1-0 win over No. 8 Florida State on Sunday.
None of it was easy, but for the 17th time in 18 games, the Ducks (23-2) found enough.
Elise Sokolsky’s complete-game two-hitter was the big reason why. She threw 57 of 84 pitches for strikes and allowed just the two baserunners — those numbers basically copied and pasted in from Lyndsey Grein’s shutout of the Seminole’s Friday night. And, she did it with Oregon’s second-string backstop behind the dish.
Injured last week, opening-day catcher Emma Cox is still in a sling. After playing on Friday, first baseman Rylee McCoy disappeared from the Ducks’ lineup with an injury both Saturday and in Sunday’s 1-0 win over No.8 Florida State (20-5).
Missing key stars, the Ducks crumbled in a late loss to rival Oregon State
And Sunday, they again played Florida State — a team whose perennial success has been built on the backs of the same high-motor, win-at-all-costs softball that No.12 Oregon has played recently to rise to the top of the Big Ten.
The Ducks entered this fight without Cox and McCoy, dipping into reserves to fill roles throughout.
It wouldn’t matter.
FSU advanced a runner past first just once— a true testament to Sokolsky’s dominance.
Trying to scratch more runs across, head coach Melyssa Lombardi was aggressive throughout. But the Seminoles seemingly had an answer for everything Oregon did offensively.
FSU pitchers combined to strikeout four over six innings of work and catcher Michaela Edenfield threw out a pair of baserunners. However, Oregon made sure only one stat ended up mattering, scoring the game’s lone run in the fifth on a Braiesey Rosa single to left.
A large contingent of FSU fans will go home disappointed — the Seminoles mustered just three hits over 14 offensive innings against the Ducks.
Dez Patmon and Kai Luschar both tallied a pair of hits, but it was Oregon’s reserves that carried the Ducks in the little things. Rosa had the pivotal hit and was behind the dish for Sokolsky’s gem. Abby Steffen was a solidifying force defensively at first base.
FSU, which was held without an extra-base hit for just the second time this year — the other was Friday against the Ducks — battled throughout. The Seminoles’ best chance came with two outs in the fifth with a runner on, but Jaysoni Beachum’s long fly ball went foul, and she was retired three pitches later.
Oregon will look to continue its celebratory ways against Abilene Christian (4-19). First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
