No. 10 Oregon takes series opener for No. 7 UCLA

Lyndsey Grein and Taylor Tinsley were locked in a pitchers’ duel for most of the night. The Ducks didn’t even have a hit entering the fourth inning. That all changed with one swing from Rylee McCoy. The freshman barreled the 0-2 pitch for a solo homer and the Ducks never looked back.

Grein and Elise Sokolsky were lights out in the circle, leading No. 10 Oregon to the series-opening 3-1 win over No. 7 UCLA in Eugene.

Grein came out firing, retiring nine of the first 10 batters she faced. However, she ran into trouble after back-to-back singles from Jessica Clements and Savy Pola. Grein then walked Jordan Woolery, bringing up Megan Grant with the bases loaded. Grein won the at-bat, watching Grant send a fly ball to the warning track.

She kept shutting down the Bruins’ offense until the sixth. Woolery belted a leadoff single. After a wild pitch, Oregon walked Grant to put two runners on. She got Kaniya Bragg to fly out before exiting the game for Sokolsky. Missy Lombardi’s decision paid off. She struck out Rylee Slimp and on changeups.

The offense responded as well. Kedre Luschar hit a two-run home run with much-needed insurance runs. And those runs mattered. Clements hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh to pull within two runs. Sokolsky retired Pola to leave Woolery and Grant in the dugout and secure the win.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on B1G+.

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