Sunday, April 26
Eugene, OR
12:00 PM
University of Oregon
38-10, 0
8
vs
0
Ohio State
24-25, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oregon | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | X | 8 | 9 | 1 |
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Senior Sunday Capped By Run-Rule Win
04/26/26 | Softball
Oregon's regular-season finale at Jane Sanders Stadium saw the Ducks beat Ohio State in five innings.
EUGENE, Ore. — They swept away Ohio State, and then had to wipe away a few tears during the postgame Senior Day ceremony.
Oregon softball honored its senior class Sunday with an 8-0 run-rule win over the Buckeyes in five innings at Jane Sanders Stadium. Seniors Lyndsey Grein, Elon Butler and Amari Harper all played significant roles in the win, before being honored postgame along with classmates Remmington Hewitt, Trinity Holden and Elise Sokolsky.
Tears were shed by student-athletes, staff and families alike. But perhaps not so many as if Sunday truly was their last time playing at the Jane; instead, wins like Sunday's have helped Oregon put together a résumé that seems likely to have them back in Eugene for an NCAA Regional in a few weeks.
"Knowing that there's more, it really makes a difference," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "You get emotional, because you just remember challenging moments throughout their career. … For them to come and take a chance and be uncomfortable and allow us to coach them on the field and in life, I just love them all, and I'm thankful. And yes, we have so much left to do."
The No. 12 Ducks improved to 38-10 overall and 18-3 in the Big Ten entering the final weekend of conference play. They head to UCLA next weekend sitting a game behind the Bruins in the conference standings, and two behind first-place Nebraska.
"Anything can happen in the last weekend," Lombardi said. "So it's about us continuing to take care of our business to put us in a position to win the Big Ten, and to put us in a position to have a great seed going into the Big Ten Tournament."
How It Happened: Grein started her final regular-season game at The Jane, and threw a 1-2-3 top of the first. Taylour Spencer (7-3) then entered and completed a five-inning one-hitter by the UO staff, allowing only a leadoff single in the fourth.
That runner reached second on a one-out error, and the next hitter worked a 3-0 count to put Ohio State a pitch away from loading the bases with one out. Instead, that batter swung 3-0 and grounded into an inning-ending double play.
"Taylour was tremendous, tremendous," Lombardi said. "Her off-speed was amazing, just the way she was able to create a large spread with her fastest speed to her softest speed, and work ahead."
Oregon's bats, meanwhile, were loud early and often. Harper hit a solo homer in the first, and Kaylynn Jones hit another in the second. Jones had gone hitless in her previous five games, but she singled and homered Sunday.
"She needed that," Lombardi said. "K-Dub is really, really good. And sometimes you just get into a spot where, you know, you have just a little bit of a dry spell where things aren't going your way. And just to see her do that (was great)."
After Jones' homer in the second, Ayanna Shaw walked and Katie Flannery doubled. Both moved up on a wild pitch, with Shaw scoring to make it 3-0, and Flannery came home on a sacrifice fly by Butler.
In the fifth, Emma Cox continued her torrid hot streak with leadoff home run. Of her 11 homers this season, seven have come over the last eight games.
"She's really confident in her plans at the plate," Lombardi said. "And just the extension — you see when she gets extended, really, really good things happen."
After Spencer worked out of trouble in the top of the fourth, Jones led off with a single. Another single by Flannery put runners at the corners with one out, and a base hit by Butler plated Jones to make it 6-0.
Harper then followed with what initially looked to be a three-run homer for a 9-0 lead. But with runners waiting to see if it cleared the fence, Harper passed Butler momentarily and the played was declared a two-run single with Harper then ruled out at first.
Spencer thus took the mound for the fifth with an 8-0 lead, and a 1-2-3 inning clinched the game and the series for the Ducks.
Notable: Saturday's win gave the Ducks their 15th consecutive Big Ten series win. … It also guaranteed Oregon a first-round bye in this season's conference tournament. … In the postgame visit with her team, Lombardi informed them that seniors Butler, Grein and Sokolsky had been selected to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League's reserve pool for the 2026 season.
Up Next: The Ducks open a three-game series at UCLA on Friday (7 p.m., B1G+).
Oregon softball honored its senior class Sunday with an 8-0 run-rule win over the Buckeyes in five innings at Jane Sanders Stadium. Seniors Lyndsey Grein, Elon Butler and Amari Harper all played significant roles in the win, before being honored postgame along with classmates Remmington Hewitt, Trinity Holden and Elise Sokolsky.
Tears were shed by student-athletes, staff and families alike. But perhaps not so many as if Sunday truly was their last time playing at the Jane; instead, wins like Sunday's have helped Oregon put together a résumé that seems likely to have them back in Eugene for an NCAA Regional in a few weeks.
"Knowing that there's more, it really makes a difference," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "You get emotional, because you just remember challenging moments throughout their career. … For them to come and take a chance and be uncomfortable and allow us to coach them on the field and in life, I just love them all, and I'm thankful. And yes, we have so much left to do."
The No. 12 Ducks improved to 38-10 overall and 18-3 in the Big Ten entering the final weekend of conference play. They head to UCLA next weekend sitting a game behind the Bruins in the conference standings, and two behind first-place Nebraska.
"Anything can happen in the last weekend," Lombardi said. "So it's about us continuing to take care of our business to put us in a position to win the Big Ten, and to put us in a position to have a great seed going into the Big Ten Tournament."
How It Happened: Grein started her final regular-season game at The Jane, and threw a 1-2-3 top of the first. Taylour Spencer (7-3) then entered and completed a five-inning one-hitter by the UO staff, allowing only a leadoff single in the fourth.
That runner reached second on a one-out error, and the next hitter worked a 3-0 count to put Ohio State a pitch away from loading the bases with one out. Instead, that batter swung 3-0 and grounded into an inning-ending double play.
"Taylour was tremendous, tremendous," Lombardi said. "Her off-speed was amazing, just the way she was able to create a large spread with her fastest speed to her softest speed, and work ahead."
Oregon's bats, meanwhile, were loud early and often. Harper hit a solo homer in the first, and Kaylynn Jones hit another in the second. Jones had gone hitless in her previous five games, but she singled and homered Sunday.
"She needed that," Lombardi said. "K-Dub is really, really good. And sometimes you just get into a spot where, you know, you have just a little bit of a dry spell where things aren't going your way. And just to see her do that (was great)."
After Jones' homer in the second, Ayanna Shaw walked and Katie Flannery doubled. Both moved up on a wild pitch, with Shaw scoring to make it 3-0, and Flannery came home on a sacrifice fly by Butler.
In the fifth, Emma Cox continued her torrid hot streak with leadoff home run. Of her 11 homers this season, seven have come over the last eight games.
"She's really confident in her plans at the plate," Lombardi said. "And just the extension — you see when she gets extended, really, really good things happen."
After Spencer worked out of trouble in the top of the fourth, Jones led off with a single. Another single by Flannery put runners at the corners with one out, and a base hit by Butler plated Jones to make it 6-0.
Harper then followed with what initially looked to be a three-run homer for a 9-0 lead. But with runners waiting to see if it cleared the fence, Harper passed Butler momentarily and the played was declared a two-run single with Harper then ruled out at first.
Spencer thus took the mound for the fifth with an 8-0 lead, and a 1-2-3 inning clinched the game and the series for the Ducks.
Notable: Saturday's win gave the Ducks their 15th consecutive Big Ten series win. … It also guaranteed Oregon a first-round bye in this season's conference tournament. … In the postgame visit with her team, Lombardi informed them that seniors Butler, Grein and Sokolsky had been selected to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League's reserve pool for the 2026 season.
Up Next: The Ducks open a three-game series at UCLA on Friday (7 p.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spencer, Taylour (7-3)
L: Molk, Jenna (15-13)
Batting:
2B: Flannery, Katie 1
HR: Harper, Amari 1 ; Cox, Emma 1 ; Jones, Kaylynn 1
RBI: Butler, Elon 2 ; Harper, Amari 3 ; Cox, Emma 1 ; Jones, Kaylynn 1
SH: Shaw, Ayanna 1
SF: Butler, Elon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Butler, Elon 1 ; Harper, Amari 1 ; Cox, Emma 1 ; Jones, Kaylynn 2 ; Shaw, Ayanna 1 ; Flannery, Katie 1 ; Lawton, Presley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballMelyssa Lombardi | Postgame - Ohio State (Game 3)
Sunday, April 26
Emma Cox | Postgame - Ohio State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
Taryn Ho | Postgame - Ohio State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
Melyssa Lombardi | Postgame - Ohio State (Game 2)
Sunday, April 26
