Oregon Softball suffers stunning Big Ten Tournament loss in slugfest vs Wisconsin

After finishing second in the Big Ten during the regular season, the Oregon Ducks arrived at the Big Ten Tournament in Maryland looking to go on a deep run. While Oregon was the higher seed, from the very beginning it was clear they were on upset alert.

In the 1st inning, the Badgers jumped on Lyndsey Grein in a devastating inning that quickly could've determined the game. The second batter of the game, Hilary Blomberg, took Grein deep, and it sparked a 3 hit, 4 run inning that led to Elise Sokolsky coming in to relieve Grein just two outs into the game.

The offense quickly proved that Wisconsin wasn't going to run away with this game answering in a big way. Elon Butler worked a leadoff walk and Emma Cox singled allowing Stefini Ma'ake to prove why she's the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week with a 3-run homer to bring Oregon back into the game.

The Ducks then managed to pull ahead in the second inning as Elon Butler launched a homer of her own before Emma Cox doubled home Amari Harper.

Wisconsin showed no signs of slowing down in the 3rd and 4th innings, as a pair of home runs and some timely hitting put the Badgers in front 7-5.

Just like we saw early in the game, Oregon showed no quit and quickly went back to work with the bats in the bottom of the 4th. Amari Harper came up clutch with a 2 RBI single before Stefini Ma'ake came through with a go-ahead sac fly to put Oregon back in front with an 8-7 lead.

The issue all day was that the Badgers kept putting pressure on the Ducks, constantly pushing runs across. The Badgers tied the game in the 5th, took the lead in the 6th, and added a pair of insurance runs in the 7th inning.

Heading into the bottom of the 7th, Stefini Ma'ake instantly brought energy back to the dugout with a home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 2 runs. The rally was short-lived as the Ducks failed to get the tying run to the plate, ending the Ducks' time in Maryland far sooner than anyone expected.

The loss marks the Ducks' second straight opening round loss in the Big Ten Tournament as the team suffered the same fate as a #2 seed last season.

The Ducks will now watch closely at how the rest of the weekend unfolds as Selection Sunday could be interesting. Oregon came into the weekend as the 13th ranked team in the ESPN/USA Softball rankings, which is important as the top 16 seeds host regionals. Regardless of Oregon's fate on Selection Sunday, the Ducks are going to need a much better pitching effort than the one they got on Thursday.

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