No. 4 Oregon softball did all it could to lose on Wednesday night, but the Ducks won again anyway.
A tough start from Staci Chambers and a lethargic offense both looked like they would sink the Ducks, but Oregon rallied when it needed to and picked up a comeback 5-3 win over Oregon State (17-16, 0-2 WCC).
Heading into the seventh inning down 3-2, Oregon (39-4, 12-1 Big Ten) loaded the bases with nobody out before a two-RBI single from Emma Cox gave the Ducks the lead. Then, a sac-fly from Rylee McCoy added some insurance.
Lyndsey Grein worked in and out of a jam in the bottom of the inning to clinch the Ducks’ fourth-straight win.
The Beavers had the runners on the corners with the winning run at the dish, but Grein got Ella Dardis to strike out swinging to end the game.
It wasn’t quite a textbook victory for the Ducks as a pair of RBI singles from Lici Campbell and Jaeya Butler gave the Beavers an early two-run lead. Oregon State jumped all over Chambers in the first, tagging her for three hits and reaching base via a pair of walks.
Chambers finished with just 0.2 innings of work in her first start since returning from injury. Some leeway should be allowed for the southpaw who missed the first half of the season, but results will be needed soon as the competition gets fiercer.
The Ducks got their first run of the game in the fourth via an error before Emma Cox drove in a run in the fifth.
Oregon only mustered five hits, but a restructured offense that featured Kedre Luschar batting third was able to do just enough.
Oregon deployed four separate arms, as Elise Sokolsky (2.2 innings, one earned run) threw the majority of the innings before Taylour Spencer and Grein combined to go the rest of the way.
The shuffling of pitchers was an excellent example of what the Ducks will need to do down the stretch to win close games against better competition.
Still, some late-inning heroics were needed after the Beavers scored their third run of the game on a single from Morgan Howeyin the fourth inning.
Grein allowed the first two runners in the bottom of the sixth to reach base, before retiring the next three batters to escape the jam.
Then, the Ducks loaded the bases and pushed home the go-ahead runs to secure another close win.
Oregon takes on No. 8 UCLA at Jane Sanders Stadium in a marquee series starting Friday.
