The Oregon Ducks softball team defeated Maryland, 11-0, in a five-inning game on Apr. 10 at Maryland Softball Stadium. Emma Cox and Amari Harper each hit home runs, while pitcher Lyndsey Grein struck out eight batters over four innings.
The win marks Oregon’s 30th victory of the season and moves the team within one and a half games of first-place Washington in the Big Ten standings. The Ducks scored five runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth, sending multiple batters to the plate during both frames.
Cox put Oregon on the scoreboard with a three-run homer in the third inning. Harper finished off Oregon’s scoring with a two-run shot in the fifth. Both Harper and Taryn Ho recorded three hits and two RBI each, while Cox led with four RBI overall.
Grein improved her record to 19-5 by striking out eight of fourteen batters faced. Head coach Melyssa Lombardi said of Grein, “She’s just in a really good place right now,” adding, “I love her command of the ball and I really enjoy how well her and Emma Cox are working right now together.” Lombardi also commented on Harper’s performance: “Amari is swinging extremely well right now… She’s so explosive… She’s in a really good spot right now.”
The Ducks capitalized on walks issued by Maryland pitchers during their big innings. In addition to offensive highlights from Cox, Harper, Ho, Ayanna Shaw contributed her sixth triple of the season while Regan Legg stole home as part of a double steal.
Shaw’s sacrifice fly set an NCAA-leading school record for Oregon’s twenty-ninth sacrifice fly this season. Grein earned her forty-ninth career win as a Duck, tying for eighth all-time at Oregon. Shaw’s six triples tie for third most on Oregon’s single-season list; Harper surpassed her previous best with eleven home runs this year.
Cox spoke about working with Grein: “I love catching Lindsay and I feel like we’re getting to the point where we can kind of read each other’s minds… so it just feels like we’re kind of speaking the same language.”
A statistical update clarified that an earlier game against Northwestern was officially ruled as a 7-3 win for Oregon after being halted due to travel commitments; this adjustment credited Stefini Ma’ake with another home run and added another sacrifice fly to their record total.
Game two between Oregon and Maryland is scheduled for Saturday morning.
