The University of Oregon women’s softball team secured its 12th consecutive victory with a 7-2 win over Oregon State on April 22 at Jane Sanders Stadium. The Ducks, ranked No. 12, completed a sweep of their in-state rivals for the first time since 2022.
The win is significant as it not only continues the team’s winning streak but also marks their first season sweeping both Northwest rivals, Oregon State and Washington, since 2016. 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.” Lombardi added that she is pleased with her team’s mindset and approach: “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.”
Pitcher Elise Sokolsky led the Ducks by throwing a complete game seven-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks while allowing only two unearned runs in her longest outing since last year against Oregon State. Sokolsky recently returned from injury and said pitching in such an important rivalry game was especially motivating: “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.” She also credited her teammates’ defense during her outing: “It was really great to see our defense work well today. I felt them behind me the entire game.”
Offensively, Elon Butler contributed significantly with both a home run—her club-best fifteenth of the season—and her Big Ten leading seventeenth double of the year, tying her for second place on Oregon’s single-season list just one behind Missy Coe’s record set in 1999.
Lombardi highlighted Riley McCoy’s performance as another key factor: “Another standout today for me was Riley (McCoy)… She had two base hits and an RBI today.” The coach also noted strong support from fans despite midweek scheduling: “They love to play here… even tonight it’s a midweek game, and we still had a great crowd… Our team is just in a really good place right now.”
Reflecting on growth since facing OSU earlier this season Lombardi said,”We were talking about that earlier today… I feel this team has grown so much…. On the mound,on defense,and at the plate,I think we’ve just solidified that and are in a really good spot.”
Oregon will next host Ohio State for a three-game series beginning Friday.
