Ducks Softball Season Ends with Second Big Loss to Oklahoma State

The Oregon softball season crashed to an end on Friday, as Oklahoma State beat the Ducks - in a game eerily similar to the opener - by a 9 - 0 score. OSU starter Kelly Maxwell dominated Oregon, striking out 8 and limiting the Ducks to just 2 hits, both in the bottom of the 7th as Maxwell surrendered what was on track for a perfect game. Maxwell kept the Ducks off the basepaths while the game was still in doubt, the score just 1 - 0 through 4 innings. Oregon played some excellent defense early, including Terra McGowan cutting down attempted steals twice.

Meanwhile, Stevie Hansen was solid through those 4 innings, but the Ducks broke down in the Cowgirl half of the 5th. OSU opened the inning with two singles and a sacrifice bunt, giving them runners on second and third with one out. The next batter hit the ball to shortstop, but just as they had on Thursday, Oregon allowed a run on a failed throw to home and it was 2 - 0. Another steal again set up the Cowgirls on second and third, still with one out, and a single then scored two more OSU runs. Morgan Scott then came on for Hansen, hit the first batter she faced and then gave up a 3-run homer, for all intents and purposes ending the game with the Cowgirls enjoying a 7 - 0 lead.

Oklahoma State would tack on two more runs in the top of the 7th, the first of which would bring Reagan Breedlove out to pitch. Allee Bunker would deliver a one-out single in the Duck 7th but be cut down at second on a fielder’s choice comebacker to Maxwell by McGowan. Ariel Carlson then doubled, moving McGowan to third, but a flyout then ended the game.

Oregon’s top pitchers had a rough outing. Hansen (20-7 on the season) gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and struck out 3. Scott (13-7) would allow 4 runs on 5 hits, walk one, strike out 3 and hit a batter. Breedlove (4-3) was on in mop-up duty and the final run OSU scored was charged to Scott. She struck out 2.

The Ducks went down in order in every inning but the 7th and never did find their groove offensively against the excellent OSU pitching.

“Version 5” of the Lombardi era at Oregon made it to a Super-Regional which the Ducks had not done since 2018. The gap between the country’s top college softball teams and Oregon still seems large, but perhaps not insurmountable. Players who can hit the kind of high-quality pitching Oklahoma State demonstrated in the Super-Regional are out there, as are pitchers who can throw near-perfect games. Coach Lombardi’s task now is to bring more of those players to Eugene for Version 6.