The University of Oregon softball team is set to participate in the Cardinal Classic at Stanford’s new softball stadium this week. The Ducks will begin play on Friday against Cal State Fullerton, marking the first of two meetings with the Titans this season. They are scheduled to face Kentucky twice—once on Friday and once on Saturday—in a series that last saw both teams meet in 2019. Oregon will close out the tournament with games against Cal Poly and host Stanford on Sunday.
In their previous encounter, Oregon overcame Stanford in the 2025 Eugene Regional, winning two games to one. After leveling the series with a 15-5 victory in game two, Dez Patmon secured a 10-7 win for the Ducks in game three with a walk-off home run.
Senior All-American Lyndsey Grein made program history by pitching a no-hitter during Oregon’s season opener against Missouri at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. This achievement marked her as the first Duck to throw a no-hitter in a season opener. Grein’s performance included 14 strikeouts, which was the highest single-game total for an Oregon pitcher since Makenna Kliethermes struck out 15 batters in 2022.
Junior Taylour Spencer also showed improvement compared to last season, posting a 1-0 record and a 1.75 ERA over three games during opening weekend. She recorded nine strikeouts while allowing only five hits and three runs (two earned).
Oregon’s pitching staff collectively averaged more than nine strikeouts per seven innings during opening weekend, ranking eighth nationally. The team also posted an earned run average of 2.06 and a WHIP of 1.18, placing them fourth among Big Ten teams.
Kaylynn Jones was named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team after batting .400 with six hits and three RBIs over five games. Teammates Addison Amaral (.364) and Ayanna Shaw (.353) also contributed strong offensive performances.
Defensively, Emma Cox has thrown out four base runners—three caught stealing and one picked off—in the first five games of the season. This places her fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten for throwing runners out.
Under head coach Melyssa Lombardi, Oregon has achieved significant success outside conference play, amassing an overall nonconference record of 166-53 and going 152-43 in regular-season nonconference matchups.
This year marks both the sixtieth anniversary of Oregon softball and ten seasons at Jane Sanders Stadium. Dr. Becky L. Sisley became Oregon’s first softball coach in the mid-1960s when she was hired by the university and played an important role during Title IX implementation in athletics during the mid-1970s. The Ducks’ original facility opened in 1979 before moving to Howe Field ahead of their first NCAA Women’s College World Series appearance two years later.
In recent decades, consistent NCAA Tournament appearances led up to construction of Jane Sanders Stadium—a project made possible through donations from football alum Bob Sanders’ family (over $16 million), Dr. Sisley, and others—which opened on March 24, 2016 with a sold-out win over Stanford.
Since moving into Jane Sanders Stadium ten seasons ago, Oregon has compiled a home record of 149 wins against 52 losses—a .741 winning percentage.
