Ducks blank Bruins for series win and Big Ten lead

 With an RBI triple, an RBI single and a game-inning double play, Kedre Luschar was one of the stars in a 9-0 win over No. 5 UCLA Sunday.
With an RBI triple, an RBI single and a game-inning double play, Kedre Luschar was one of the stars in a 9-0 win over No. 5 UCLA Sunday. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lyndsey Grein pitched a three-hit complete-game shutout and the Oregon bats came alive for nine quick runs as Oregon softball whitewashed UCLA 9-0 in the series decider Sunday afternoon.

Freshman Kaylynn Jones lifted an 0-1 pitch into right center for a three-run homer in the fourth, the first of her career for the second baseman from Denton, Texas.

After losing 8-0 on Saturday with 13 groundouts, the Ducks' bats came alive to take two of three from the No. 5 Bruins, bringing their season record to 41-5.

They started quickly. Leadoff hitter Kai Luschar was hit by a pitch and took second on a wild pitch. Rylee McCoy singled down the left field line to drive her home, then with two outs Paige Sinicki chopped a single up the middle to score McCoy.

In the UCLA fourth the Bruins got two aboard with one out, but Sinicki ended the threat with a diving stop and a double play.

A five-run fourth inning ended it early. Rightfielder Aryanna Shaw led off with a walk and stole second. Katie Flannery walked. Jones sent the 3-2 pitch into right center for a 7-0 lead.

Still with no outs, the Ducks weren't done. Kai Luschar walked on four pitches and stole second, her 48th theft of the year, and a record-setting 145 for the Webfoots. McCoy doubled to make it 8-0, then Kedre Luschar singled through the right side to reach 9-0.

Kedre Luschar had a day. In the third she tripled to score her sister Kai, drove in another run with the fourth-inning single, and she gunned down a runner at third after catching a fly ball for a double play to end the game.

In the pitching circle Grein reached 25-1 with the win, scattering three hits, walking two and striking out three. She's struck 170 this year in 134.1 innings, with a league-leading ERA of 1.15.

Oregon leads the Big Ten at 14-2, a game ahead of the Bruins at 13-3. They are off until Friday when they travel to Bloomington, Indiana for a three-game series against the Hoosiers, 8-8 in the league and 29-13 overall. Just two weekends remain in conference play before the Big Ten Tournament May 7-10.

The Ducks are closing in on a great draw in the NCAA Softball Tournament. The regionals begin on May 16.

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