Sunday, March 15
Eugene, OR
12:00 PM
University of Oregon
21-7, 0
6
vs
5
Penn State
19-9, 0
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Penn State
0
0
0
0
4
0
1
5
3
3
Oregon
0
1
0
2
0
2
1
6
7
4
Ducks Walk it Off to Complete Penn State Sweep
03/15/26 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. — Emma Cox hit a sacrifice fly that scored Elon Butler from third in the bottom of the seventh inning as No. 18 Oregon won a back-and-forth affair, 6-5, Sunday at Jane Sanders Stadium. The walk-off win gave the Ducks (21-7, 3-0) a sweep in their first Big Ten series of the season.
Oregon led 3-0 after four innings, but saw Penn State (19-9, 0-3) jump ahead 4-3 on a grand slam in the top of the fifth. The Ducks regained the lead at 5-4 on Taryn Ho's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, only to have the Nittany Lions scratch out a run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5 before Cox delivered the game-winner.
"Those are the really fun moments that you always dream of when you're a little girl," said Cox. "And it was fun. I took a step to look around and be like, okay, this is fun. I'm ready for this moment.
"And like I said before, defense didn't go my way today, so I was going to make sure with everything in my power that offense was going to go my way in those last two at-bats. So whatever it took, I was getting the ball through the infield or something to get my team to score."
Elise Sokolsky started and threw the first four innings. Later, she reentered the game and got the final two outs in the seventh to pick up her fourth win of the season (4-1). Sokolsky allowed two runs on two hits and struck out three.
"I think you're going to always have different ways to win, and that's what I pride ourselves in, is that we know how to win in different ways," said coach Melyssa Lombardi, whose team had to overcome an uncharacteristic four-error game. "You're really seeing this group have forward-thinking, and just expecting to win whether we're in a good spot or not. So a lot of growth today, a lot of growing moments, and it's a part of the season. And when we grow, it makes us better."
How It Happened: The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Stefini Ma'ake's two-out RBI. She slapped a single into right field to score Rylee McCoy from second base.
Oregon made it 3-0 in the fourth inning. Elon Butler reached on a throwing error that allowed her to go all the way to third. Amari Harper followed with a walk.
Butler scored on a fielder's choice. Ma'ake then doubled to right to drive in her second run of the game.
Brooke Klosowicz gave Penn State a 4-3 lead with a grand slam in the top of the fifth before Oregon scored twice in the bottom of the sixth.
Cox led off with a single. Pinch-runner Presley Lawton stole second. Ma'ake's single – her third hit of the game – sent Lawton to third.
Lawton then scored on wild pitch to tie the game at 4-4. Taryn Ho followed with a single through the left side to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead.
The Nittany Lions fought back to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh, scoring the tying run on a fielder's choice.
Penn State then loaded the bases with one out before Sokolsky reentered the game. On an 0-2 count, Sokolsky got Klosowicz to line into a double play to Ho that ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Butler reached on an error and Harper walked. McCoy successfully executed a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Cox then ended the game when she went the opposite way on a 3-2 pitch for a sacrifice fly that scored Butler.
"We have definitely proven that we are a team that can come from behind and win at any point in the game, and we have a really tough lineup to throw to in the seventh inning," said Cox.
Notable: The two teams combined to commit seven errors … This was just the second time in Lombardi's tenure that the Ducks committed four errors in a game … Amari Harper extended her hitting streak to 10 games, matching a career high … Sunday was Oregon's Strike Out Cancer game.
Quotable
Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi on being able to watch her son win a state basketball title Saturday night, thanks in part to the Ducks' run-rule win earlier in the day that shortened the game to five innings:
"We all talk about how we do life together, and that's what we do. We see each other every single day. We do life, and we have struggles, and we have highs, we have lows and celebrations, and that's just a part of it. Yesterday, I only got to my son's game with two minutes left, I drove all that way for two minutes, and I would not change it one bit. The only reason that I got to get there at the end, to watch him finish, and to watch him celebrate, is for (the team) to have my back and find a way to get it done. And it was really important to them. And it means so much to me."
Sophomore Stefini Ma'ake on taking a different approach at the plate on Sunday
"I think it was just us attacking early, attacking that pitcher early, because she was going to get us out. She was going to attack the zone early. And so, I think it's just us continuing to go with the same plan and approach, but just in a different way. It kind of shows that we can win in different situations."
Up Next: Oregon hits the road for a seven-game trip with stops at Purdue (March 20-22), Indiana (March 23) and Northwestern (March 26-28).
Oregon led 3-0 after four innings, but saw Penn State (19-9, 0-3) jump ahead 4-3 on a grand slam in the top of the fifth. The Ducks regained the lead at 5-4 on Taryn Ho's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, only to have the Nittany Lions scratch out a run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5 before Cox delivered the game-winner.
"Those are the really fun moments that you always dream of when you're a little girl," said Cox. "And it was fun. I took a step to look around and be like, okay, this is fun. I'm ready for this moment.
"And like I said before, defense didn't go my way today, so I was going to make sure with everything in my power that offense was going to go my way in those last two at-bats. So whatever it took, I was getting the ball through the infield or something to get my team to score."
Elise Sokolsky started and threw the first four innings. Later, she reentered the game and got the final two outs in the seventh to pick up her fourth win of the season (4-1). Sokolsky allowed two runs on two hits and struck out three.
"I think you're going to always have different ways to win, and that's what I pride ourselves in, is that we know how to win in different ways," said coach Melyssa Lombardi, whose team had to overcome an uncharacteristic four-error game. "You're really seeing this group have forward-thinking, and just expecting to win whether we're in a good spot or not. So a lot of growth today, a lot of growing moments, and it's a part of the season. And when we grow, it makes us better."
How It Happened: The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Stefini Ma'ake's two-out RBI. She slapped a single into right field to score Rylee McCoy from second base.
Oregon made it 3-0 in the fourth inning. Elon Butler reached on a throwing error that allowed her to go all the way to third. Amari Harper followed with a walk.
Butler scored on a fielder's choice. Ma'ake then doubled to right to drive in her second run of the game.
Brooke Klosowicz gave Penn State a 4-3 lead with a grand slam in the top of the fifth before Oregon scored twice in the bottom of the sixth.
Cox led off with a single. Pinch-runner Presley Lawton stole second. Ma'ake's single – her third hit of the game – sent Lawton to third.
Lawton then scored on wild pitch to tie the game at 4-4. Taryn Ho followed with a single through the left side to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead.
The Nittany Lions fought back to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh, scoring the tying run on a fielder's choice.
Penn State then loaded the bases with one out before Sokolsky reentered the game. On an 0-2 count, Sokolsky got Klosowicz to line into a double play to Ho that ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Butler reached on an error and Harper walked. McCoy successfully executed a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Cox then ended the game when she went the opposite way on a 3-2 pitch for a sacrifice fly that scored Butler.
"We have definitely proven that we are a team that can come from behind and win at any point in the game, and we have a really tough lineup to throw to in the seventh inning," said Cox.
Notable: The two teams combined to commit seven errors … This was just the second time in Lombardi's tenure that the Ducks committed four errors in a game … Amari Harper extended her hitting streak to 10 games, matching a career high … Sunday was Oregon's Strike Out Cancer game.
Quotable
Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi on being able to watch her son win a state basketball title Saturday night, thanks in part to the Ducks' run-rule win earlier in the day that shortened the game to five innings:
"We all talk about how we do life together, and that's what we do. We see each other every single day. We do life, and we have struggles, and we have highs, we have lows and celebrations, and that's just a part of it. Yesterday, I only got to my son's game with two minutes left, I drove all that way for two minutes, and I would not change it one bit. The only reason that I got to get there at the end, to watch him finish, and to watch him celebrate, is for (the team) to have my back and find a way to get it done. And it was really important to them. And it means so much to me."
Sophomore Stefini Ma'ake on taking a different approach at the plate on Sunday
"I think it was just us attacking early, attacking that pitcher early, because she was going to get us out. She was going to attack the zone early. And so, I think it's just us continuing to go with the same plan and approach, but just in a different way. It kind of shows that we can win in different situations."
Up Next: Oregon hits the road for a seven-game trip with stops at Purdue (March 20-22), Indiana (March 23) and Northwestern (March 26-28).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sokolsky, Elise (4-1)
L: McKenna Young (5-2)
Batting:
HR: Brooke Klosowicz 1
RBI: Brooke Klosowicz 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Michela Barbanente 1 ; Brooke Klosowicz 1 ; Jordyn Jochims 1 ; Frankee Flesher 1 ; Kalli Karwowski 1
CS: Breanna Hanik 1
HBP: Michela Barbanente 2
Batting:
2B: Ma'ake, Stefini 1
RBI: Cox, Emma 2 ; Ma'ake, Stefini 2 ; Ho, Taryn 1
SH: McCoy, Rylee 1 ; Flannery, Katie 1
SF: Cox, Emma 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Butler, Elon 2 ; Legg, Regan 1 ; McCoy, Rylee 1 ; Lawton, Presley 1 ; Ma'ake, Stefini 1
SB: Legg, Regan 1 ; Lawton, Presley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
lf/1b
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
C/UTL
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/ Softball
INF
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RHP
/ SoftballMelyssa Lombardi | Postgame - Penn State (Game 3)
Monday, March 16
Stefini Ma'ake | Postgame - Penn State (Game 3)
Monday, March 16
Emma Cox | Postgame - Penn State (Game 3)
Monday, March 16
Maddie Milhorn | Postgame - Penn State (Game 2)
Sunday, March 15
