Oregon’s softball team secured an 11-8 win in extra innings against No. 20 Duke at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. This marked the first meeting between the two ranked programs.
The Ducks started with a 3-0 lead before Duke rallied to go ahead 5-3 after six innings. Oregon responded with three runs in the top of the seventh to take a brief lead, but Duke tied it up and loaded the bases before Oregon executed a double play to send the game into extra innings.
In the eighth inning, Oregon scored five runs using timely hitting and capitalized on international tie-breaker rules. Amari Harper hit a two-run home run, and Braiesey Rosa contributed multiple hits and RBIs in her first career start in right field.
“After the seventh, I knew we were going to win,” said head coach Melyssa Lombardi. “I didn’t know if it was going to be more than eight innings or what. I didn’t know exactly how, I just knew. You could feel it from our group.”
Rosa described her approach at the plate: “For me it was just being there for my teammates and knowing that I can swing the bat and hit the ball hard,” she said. “That was the biggest plan for me. Just getting on base no matter what it took.”
Harper commented on Oregon’s offensive mindset: “We kept saying in the dugout ‘just bang.’ That’s it,” she said. “Just bang. I think one through nine, we did a great job the whole game just swinging.” Reflecting on her home run, Harper added, “I had some good cuts – I felt like I was missing one little mechanical switch,” she said. “So I made that pre-pitch adjustment and it just went.”
Coach Lombardi praised her team’s effort: “This group is resilient. This group knows how to really connect with each other and get the best out of each other. That’s definitely what I saw today. We were required to go the distance in this game. They were not going to do anything less than find a way to win.”
First baseman/outfielder Harper shared when she sensed victory was possible: “I think it was after Elon’s hit. I bunted and Elon got on with a hard ground ball and I was like, yeah, now we’re gonna win. I don’t know when. I don’t know how, but we’re going to win.”
With this result, Oregon improved its record at Mary Nutter by defeating three ranked teams—Duke, Texas A&M (2-1), and South Carolina (2-1). The Ducks tallied a season-high 15 hits against Duke; Elon Butler, Rosa, and Taryn Ho each had three hits—career highs for Rosa and Ho.
Taylour Spencer pitched two innings in relief for Oregon to earn her third win of the season.
Oregon will open its home schedule Friday by hosting Stetson and Idaho State as part of the Oregon Classic at Jane Sanders Stadium.
