Oregon softball blanked at Big Ten Tournament

Oregon leadoff hitter Kai Luschar swiped another base in the first inning for the Ducks and slapped two hits, but the offense went stagnant in a 5-0 loss to Michigan at the Big Ten tournament.
Oregon leadoff hitter Kai Luschar swiped another base in the first inning for the Ducks and slapped two hits, but the offense went stagnant in a 5-0 loss to Michigan at the Big Ten tournament. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Conference champion and No. 7-ranked Oregon suffered a quick exit and a scoring drought at the Big Ten Tournament in West Lafayette, Indiana, falling to No. 8-seed Michigan in the quarterfinals, 5-0.

Now the Ducks await the selection show for the NCAA Tournament, Sunday May 11 at 4 p.m. PDT on ESPN2.

Thursday they couldn't get the offense going, one of the few times this year in a 47-7 season. Michigan struck for a run in the second and third innings, then erupted for three in the fifth.

Lyndsey Grein pitched out of a no-out, two-on jam in the third but faltered in the fifth, giving up the three runs as she surrendered a walk and two singles before giving way to Staci Chambers.

Grein struck out the side in the fourth, however, and a total of five in her 2.1 innings of work, so she may be closer to regaining the form that made her a 26-2 pitcher during the season.

The Ducks scattered five hits, all singles, lined into a double play, left seven runners on base.

Kai Luschar slapped two of the hits and stole a base in the first inning, the 103rd of her career, a school record.

The effort was there throughout the game but it was not Oregon's day. It's still possible that they'll be selected for a regional. The NCAA picks 16 teams to host each of the four-team double elimination tournaments. Even with the loss today they should be in that quadrant.

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