This is what fans wanted to see.
Oregon’s Rylee McCoy and UCLA’s Megan Grant trading big at-bats. Two talent-rich lineups keeping opposing pitchers under constant stress. And the West Coast’s two most star-studded squads turning a routine April weekend into a midseason playoff preview.
To cap things off, a day after being embarrassed in front of a sell-out crowd, it was No. 5 Oregon (41-5, 14-2 Big Ten) that did all the little things right and No. 6 UCLA (41-7, 13-3 Big Ten) that crumbled in a 9-0 run-rule Ducks win at Jane Sanders Stadium
“This is huge,” centerfielder Kedre Luschar said.“We wanted this so bad… World Series teams come back and that’s what we did.”
Oregon’s Kaylynn Jones had the biggest day, collecting three RBI’s with her first career homer in the win.
“We knew she had that power…we were waiting for it,” Luschar said.
Lyndsey Grein dominated yet again in the circle, tossing a complete game and allowing just three hits. She finished the series with 11.1 scoreless innings against one of the nation’s top offenses.
The result — a commanding Oregon series win against a team that almost always wins these types of high-stakes games — however, was just as memorable as the scene that surrounded it.
For a sport where monotony rules and games are often decided long before they are played, this weekend’s three games — all with postseason implications — provided a much-needed shot in the arm.
“We’re all bought in,” Luschar said. “We all want this… and we are pretty lethal.”
“We live for these games, these moments,” Grein said.
To succeed in the postseason, Oregon will need to do much more of what it did on Sunday. The Ducks gleefully capitalized on every Bruins’ blunder and shut down a potent UCLA lineup to earn a stress-free ranked win.
UCLA only had one error in the loss, but missed on a bevy of chances on both sides of the ball that could have helped swing the game.
On the other hand, Oregon was nails and won on all the margins. The biggest defensive play on the day came from shortstop Paige Sinicki, who made a diving catch and tagged second to erase a Bruins’ third-inning rally.
“Our defense and Paige are outstanding,” Grein said. “I actually sat down with Paige last night at dinner and was like ‘Hey I’m sorry the balls are coming in so hot’ and she was like ‘No keep them coming’.”
Grein’s ERA now sits at 1.11 over 134.2 innings of work.
McCoy and Luschar each starred too, they each went 2-3 with a pair of RBI’s apiece to help Oregon grab an early lead.
Jones punctuated the win in the fourth with her first-career homer — a three-run blast to right-center.
“I was just trying to focus on a sac-fly, to score the runners,” Jones said. “To have that feeling of hitting it out was great.”
While only counting as another series win in a season that’s been packed with them, the weekend win over the Bruins brought a certain energy to Eugene.
This weekend was Oregon’s first series win against UCLA under Lombardi — and will serve as a tremendous boost to the Ducks’ regional-hosting aspirations.
“To be the best you have to beat the best,” Lombardi said. “This is why I coach, why these guys train, for series like this.”
Oregon will head on the road, taking on Indiana (28-13, 8-8 Big Ten) in Bloomington.
