Oregon teams shine

Oregon’s softball and baseball teams both won weekend series on April 10-12, giving the Ducks a two-sport boost heading into another busy week. (goducks.com ) (goducks.com ) Softball did the cleaner work. No. 15 Oregon swept Maryland in College Park, winning 11-0 on April 10, 4-3 in eight innings on April 11, and 8-2 on April 12. (goducks.com ) (goducks.com ) The finale turned in the fifth inning, when Stefini Ma’ake hit a grand slam to start Oregon’s 8-2 win. Maryland’s official box score listed Oregon at 32-9 overall after the sweep. (goducks.com ) (umterps.com ) Pitcher Lyndsey Grein drove the weekend as much as the bats did. Oregon said she went 3-0 against Maryland with a 0.93 earned-run average over 15 innings, and D1 Softball named her national pitcher of the week on April 14. (goducks.com ) Baseball took two of three from No. 19 Nebraska at PK Park. Oregon won 7-6 on April 10, lost 10-8 on April 11, and closed the series with a 5-4 win on April 12. (goducks.com ) (goducks.com ) That mattered after Oregon’s previous week had included a road loss at Portland on April 8 and a first Big Ten series defeat against Michigan the week before. The Nebraska series pushed the Ducks back into the win column before a trip to Illinois. (goducks.com ) (bendbulletin.com ) The weekend coverage also pulled in football, with coach Dan Lanning meeting reporters after Oregon’s first spring scrimmage on April 11 at Autzen Stadium. Oregon’s football report said spring practice had reached its halfway point. (goducks.com ) Lanning’s appearance did not come after a game result, but it fit the same April sports cycle: softball was coming off a road sweep, baseball had just won a ranked series, and football was in the middle of spring evaluation. Oregon’s official athletics site listed Washington for softball and Illinois for baseball as the next weekend opponents. (goducks.com ) (goducks.com )