The Oregon Ducks softball team secured two more victories on Saturday during the Oregon Classic at Jane Sanders Stadium, continuing their strong performance as February comes to a close. The team defeated Stetson 4-1 and Samford 8-0 in five innings, marking the second consecutive day of run-rule wins.
After giving up a solo home run in the first inning against Stetson, Oregon’s pitching staff held opponents scoreless for the remainder of both games. Sophomore second baseman Kaylynn Jones commented on the team’s cohesion: “This group is great. I mean, we work so well together, and we have every piece that every team wants. And so to show that in a game like our home opener is great. We’ve been waiting for it all year.”
Jones contributed a three-run homer during a seven-run surge late in Saturday’s nightcap against Samford. Transfer Elon Butler ended the game with a two-run walk-off single and finished her day going 5-for-6 with three extra-base hits and four RBIs, bringing her weekend total to 12 RBIs.
Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi praised Butler’s mindset: “She thinks she’s gonna beat anybody,” Lombardi said. “It’s like, it doesn’t matter who’s on the mound. She just knows she’s gonna beat them. And I love that about her.”
Pitcher Taylour Spencer allowed only one hit over five innings against Stetson and discussed her approach this season: “Going into this year, it’s more of my mentality to just go have fun and attack,” Spencer said. “I think last year I put a lot of pressure on myself when I didn’t need to. And so (this year is about) just coming out here and, again, just throwing the ball like I know how, and going out there and having fun.”
Butler responded quickly to Stetson’s early lead by hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning—her fourth of the season—which tied the game.
“It’s nice knowing that we have an offense that can score, and back me up when things like that happen,” Spencer added. “And I think once we got that run back, I was like, OK, go time.”
Butler also doubled in Ayanna Shaw for another run in the third inning before Shaw tripled later to bring Katie Flannery home.
Elise Sokolsky pitched two scoreless innings to secure Oregon’s win over Stetson.
In their second game Saturday night against Samford, Shaw tripled to start off scoring before Jones brought her home with a sacrifice fly.
Coach Lombardi noted Shaw’s impact: “She’s just very difficult to defend,” Lombardi said regarding Shaw’s power-slapping profile. “I look at these last couple years, she’s just been banged up. You know, she’d be healthy and then not healthy. And you’re just seeing a healthy Ayanna who’s just really, really good at what she does.”
Freshman Taryn Ho led off an inning with a double before Braiesey Rose was hit by a pitch; Rylee McCoy then delivered an RBI double—her first hit since February 7—and received support from teammates upon returning to the dugout.
“She’s back — that’s all it needed,” Jones said about McCoy breaking her slump. “That’s all it takes. We were excited for her. We know it’s been difficult for her, but she’s dove into her teammates, which is what we all expect from each other no matter what our results are. So I’m excited for her. I think it’s just the beginning.”
Later in that same inning Jones hit another three-run homer while drawing bases-loaded walks along with teammates before Butler ended proceedings with another walk-off single.
Notable performances included Butler extending her hitting streak to nine games while batting .769 during this tournament; pitcher Lyndsey Grein closed out Samford by striking out their final hitter—a mark which extends Grein’s streak this weekend without allowing any base runners across 7⅓ innings with 15 strikeouts; Sokolsky earned her seventh career save versus Stetson—a figure now tied for sixth-most saves in program history.
The Ducks will conclude play at The Jane Sunday afternoon when they face Samford again at 12:30 p.m.
