The Oregon Ducks women’s softball team won its 12th straight game on April 22, defeating Oregon State University 7-2 at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene. With this victory, the Ducks completed a series sweep of their in-state rivals for the first time since 2022.
The result is significant as it demonstrates the team’s momentum heading into the latter part of the season and highlights their ability to perform under pressure in rivalry games. Head coach Melyssa Lombardi said, “These guys have been winning, and they don’t want to lose. That’s a rivalry game. We don’t want two, we want to sweep again. We don’t want the series; we want the sweep.”
Pitcher Elise Sokolsky led Oregon by throwing a complete game seven-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks, allowing only two unearned runs. Sokolsky recently returned from injury and said, “I think it was awesome to take on that strain, since my pitching staff took on strain for me earlier in the season… It’s always fun to be able to pitch in a rivalry game.” The Ducks’ offense produced seven runs on eleven hits including home runs and doubles from Elon Butler as well as triples from Amari Harper and Ayanna Shaw.
Lombardi praised both individual performances and team spirit throughout the contest: “What I like is the things that they’re talking about and what they want to accomplish, and then they are setting their minds to it… This was great. I thought this was a big test for us to see how we were going to handle it. I thought they crushed it.” She also commented on Riley McCoy’s contribution: “Another standout today for me was Riley (McCoy)… She had two base hits and an RBI today.” Lombardi added that playing at home continues to energize her squad: “They love to play here… We love to play at home and play in front of our fans. I think our team is just in a really good place right now. They’re getting hot at the right time, peaking at the right time.”
The win marks not only Oregon’s first sweep over OSU since 2022 but also their first season sweeping both Northwest rivals—OSU and Washington—since 2016.
Looking ahead, Oregon will host Ohio State for a three-game series beginning Friday.
