Oregon Softball Comes From Behind To Beat #14 Duke In Extra Innings

Oregon softball finished a very confusing weekend with a come-from-behind victory that went into extra innings against No. 14 Duke.It was the first softball meeting between the schools. This battle between the top 15 softball teams was a grand finale at the Mary Nutter Tournament; even more so with a Ducks victory.AdvertisementLyndsey Grein started against Mallory Wheeler for the Blue Devils. Grein started well enough and Duke didn't score in the first two innings.Meanwhile, Oregon's bat showed some life early in the innings. The Ducks scored first in the second inning on Rylee McCoy's sacrifice fly to score Emma Cox. In the third inning, Kaylynn Jones doubled, then came home after a defensive error that allowed Amari Harper to send in the base. Elon Butler then sent Harper home with a double.Grein's pitching game completely collapsed in the bottom of the third inning, allowing two runs with no outs, and Duke was back in action.That was it for Grein's morning, and Maddie Milhorn came to the circle and closed out the round without further damage.AdvertisementAnd then, just like that, the Oregon bats went cold. Larissa Jacquez took the circle for the Blue Devils when Oregon took a 3-0 lead and held the Ducks scoreless for three innings. Oregon's best chance to score again was in the sixth inning, but (as has been their habit early in the season) they stranded runners in scoring position and came up empty.In the bottom of the fifth inning, Duke got back into the ball game. A double was followed by a two-run homer, and that was it for Milhorn's time in the circle. The Ducks brought Elise Sokolsky to the rim, with Duke now leading 4-3.The Blue Devils added another point against Sokolsky, with a double that increased their lead to 5-3.Down by two, it was time for the Oregon bats to come alive and put pressure on the Duke pitchers. With Jones on third and one out, Butler finished Jacquez's outing in the circle with an RBI single.Mallory Wheeler returned for the Blue Devils, but that didn't quell Oregon's onslaught. Braiesey Rosa hit a single that sent Butler home, then freshman SS Taryn Ho tipped in the go-ahead run.In the bottom of the 7th inning, Oregon needed three outs to escape with the victory. Just three outs. We can do this, right?Not so fast my friendSokolsky allowed two walk-off singles and got the hook, bringing in Taylour Spencer. The game felt like it was slipping away when Duke tied the game, and with one out they had two runners in scoring position.The Oregon defense ended Duke's victory hopes in seven with a nifty double play, and we went to extra innings.AdvertisementOregon's bats continued to jump all over Duke's pitchers, who had given it their all and came up short. In extra innings, teams start with a runner placed on second base. The Ducks placed Ho as the runner on second base, and she advanced to third on a fly ball from McCoy to right field. Ho scored when Katie Flannery singled, giving the Ducks a lead. With two outs, Oregon finally strung together a few runs and Jones hit a double to score Flannery.Harper followed up with a home run to bring Jones home.Butler and Cox got on base and Rosa hit a single to score Butler and give Oregon an 11-6 lead.AdvertisementDuke scored two more points against Spencer, but Oregon's lead was too great and the Ducks came away with an 11-8 victory.So, Oregon softball finished a wild weekend where it lost two games to unranked competition, but won all three of its games against ranked opponents. So what should we think about it? Isn't Oregon particularly good? Yes. Are the Ducks a very good team? Yes.Oregon softball started the season with a very Jekyll-and-Hyde streak. Three weekends into the season, we still don't really know who these Ducks are.This next weekend, the Ducks return to the Jane for the Oregon Classic and easier competition against Stetson, Idaho State and Samford.AdvertisementMaybe.