Saturday, March 14
Eugene, OR
4:00 PM
University of Oregon
20-7, 0
10
vs
1
Penn State
19-8, 0
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Penn State
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
2
Oregon
3
3
4
0
X
10
9
1
Butler, Milhorn Help Ducks Clinch Series
03/14/26 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. — Elon Butler hit a home run and drove in five runs, while freshman Maddie Milhorn picked up her first collegiate win as No. 18 Oregon cruised to a 10-1 win in five innings Saturday at Jane Sanders Stadium.
With the win, the Ducks (20-7, 2-0) clinched their Big Ten season-opening series and have won nine straight Big Ten series dating back to last year.
Butler drove in two runs in the second inning and then hit a three-run shot off the scoreboard in the third for a five-RBI game. The senior outfielder now has 30 RBI in her last 14 games.
"I think I just had a really good mentality shift and just a lot of trust in myself and my capability as a player," said Butler. "Nothing much has changed like swing wise. I think I've just been really trusting myself and knowing what I can do."
Millhorn went the distance to earn her first victory of the season. She allowed one run on three hits, struck out two and walked none in 5.0 innings. She faced just two batters over the minimum.
"It's awesome," said associate head coach Sam Marder. "We always want to take the first two games of the series. And I think that, you know, these guys are viewing themselves as defending champions right now; they're defending their title out there, and they're playing with a chip on their shoulder, which is where we want them to be."
How It Happened: The Ducks scored three runs in both the first and second innings and four in the third.
In the bottom of the first, Ayanna Shaw struck out, but reached base on a third-strike wild pitch. Kaylynn Jones followed with a single. With one out, Amari Harper walked to load the bases.
The Ducks scored their first run when Rylee McCoy was hit by a pitch. Stefini Ma'ake followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Jones.
Emma Cox then came through with a two-out RBI single that plated Harper and the Ducks led 3-0 after one inning.
Penn State (19-8, 0-2) got on the board with a solo home run in the top of the second before Oregon put up three more runs in the bottom of the inning.
Addison Amaral led off and reached on an error. Shaw singled and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Butler then doubled just inside the leftfield line to score both runners.
Harper followed with a single that sent Butler to third. Butler then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1.
Oregon put the game out of reach with a four-run third.
Cox led off with a single and Amaral doubled to bring in the Ducks' seventh run of the game. Butler came to the plate with two runners on after Jones walked and drilled a 2-1 pitch off the scoreboard in right field to give Oregon a 10-1 lead. It was her team-leading ninth home run of the season. Butler also hit her team-best 12th double on the year Saturday.
""We're just putting all the pieces together," said Butler. "And that's what I absolutely love about this team is we have all the pieces to actually win a World Series and be World Series champions and Big Ten champions as well. And I just love to see us just finally put all the pieces together."
Notable: Amari Harper extended her hitting streak to nine games – one shy of her career high … Three Ducks had two-hit games on Saturday – Ayanna Shaw, Elon Butler and Emma Cox.
Quotable
Pitcher Maddie Milhorn on the run support from the offense
"I have so much confidence every time when were on offense, especially when, like, Elon's up to bat. I just know we're going to get runs on the board. So I know I can rest a little bit when I'm in the dugout, because I know my team's going to get the job done."
Associate Head Coach Sam Marder
"This team was really challenged early in the season, and we were forced to mature quickly. We were forced to learn about ourselves and to make adjustments, and it's fun to see some of those things paying off right now."
Up Next: The Oregon-Penn State series wraps up on Sunday (12 p.m./B1G+).
With the win, the Ducks (20-7, 2-0) clinched their Big Ten season-opening series and have won nine straight Big Ten series dating back to last year.
Butler drove in two runs in the second inning and then hit a three-run shot off the scoreboard in the third for a five-RBI game. The senior outfielder now has 30 RBI in her last 14 games.
"I think I just had a really good mentality shift and just a lot of trust in myself and my capability as a player," said Butler. "Nothing much has changed like swing wise. I think I've just been really trusting myself and knowing what I can do."
Millhorn went the distance to earn her first victory of the season. She allowed one run on three hits, struck out two and walked none in 5.0 innings. She faced just two batters over the minimum.
"It's awesome," said associate head coach Sam Marder. "We always want to take the first two games of the series. And I think that, you know, these guys are viewing themselves as defending champions right now; they're defending their title out there, and they're playing with a chip on their shoulder, which is where we want them to be."
How It Happened: The Ducks scored three runs in both the first and second innings and four in the third.
In the bottom of the first, Ayanna Shaw struck out, but reached base on a third-strike wild pitch. Kaylynn Jones followed with a single. With one out, Amari Harper walked to load the bases.
The Ducks scored their first run when Rylee McCoy was hit by a pitch. Stefini Ma'ake followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Jones.
Emma Cox then came through with a two-out RBI single that plated Harper and the Ducks led 3-0 after one inning.
Penn State (19-8, 0-2) got on the board with a solo home run in the top of the second before Oregon put up three more runs in the bottom of the inning.
Addison Amaral led off and reached on an error. Shaw singled and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Butler then doubled just inside the leftfield line to score both runners.
Harper followed with a single that sent Butler to third. Butler then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1.
Oregon put the game out of reach with a four-run third.
Cox led off with a single and Amaral doubled to bring in the Ducks' seventh run of the game. Butler came to the plate with two runners on after Jones walked and drilled a 2-1 pitch off the scoreboard in right field to give Oregon a 10-1 lead. It was her team-leading ninth home run of the season. Butler also hit her team-best 12th double on the year Saturday.
""We're just putting all the pieces together," said Butler. "And that's what I absolutely love about this team is we have all the pieces to actually win a World Series and be World Series champions and Big Ten champions as well. And I just love to see us just finally put all the pieces together."
Notable: Amari Harper extended her hitting streak to nine games – one shy of her career high … Three Ducks had two-hit games on Saturday – Ayanna Shaw, Elon Butler and Emma Cox.
Quotable
Pitcher Maddie Milhorn on the run support from the offense
"I have so much confidence every time when were on offense, especially when, like, Elon's up to bat. I just know we're going to get runs on the board. So I know I can rest a little bit when I'm in the dugout, because I know my team's going to get the job done."
Associate Head Coach Sam Marder
"This team was really challenged early in the season, and we were forced to mature quickly. We were forced to learn about ourselves and to make adjustments, and it's fun to see some of those things paying off right now."
Up Next: The Oregon-Penn State series wraps up on Sunday (12 p.m./B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Milhorn, Maddie (1-0)
L: Brevyn Kellepouris (4-2)
Batting:
HR: Brooke Klosowicz 1
RBI: Brooke Klosowicz 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooke Klosowicz 1
Batting:
2B: Butler, Elon 1 ; Amaral, Addison 1
HR: Butler, Elon 1
RBI: Butler, Elon 5 ; McCoy, Rylee 1 ; Ma'ake, Stefini 1 ; Cox, Emma 1 ; Amaral, Addison 1
SF: Ma'ake, Stefini 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shaw, Ayanna 2 ; Jones, Kaylynn 2 ; Butler, Elon 2 ; Harper, Amari 1 ; Legg, Regan 1 ; Amaral, Addison 2
SB: Harper, Amari 1
HBP: Harper, Amari 1 ; McCoy, Rylee 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballUTIL
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UTIL
/ SoftballINF
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INF/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballOF
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Elon Butler | Postgame - Penn State (Game 1)
Saturday, March 14
Amari Harper | Postgame - Penn State (Game 1)
Saturday, March 14
Rylee McCoy | Postgame - JSS Classic (Day 3)
Monday, March 09
