They’ve had walk-off home runs, they’ve had walk-off singles, but now the No. 16 Oregon Ducks softball team (54-9) can add a walk-off walk to the list of ways they’ve won games, eliminating unseeded Ole Miss (42-21) at the 2025 Women’s College World Series on Friday, May 30.

It was the second-straight night at Oklahoma City’s Devon Park that the Ducks played past the clock striking midnight, playing 10 innings against the Rebels before senior Kedre Luschar drew a bases-loaded walk and secured Oregon the 6-5 win. The game came just four minutes shy of the four-hour mark, concluding at 12:22 a.m. local time, per game notes.

“Just an unbelievable battle by our team. I’m so proud of their fight,” Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi said postgame. “All year long, they’ve been put into different situations and having to come through, and I feel like all these situations throughout the year has prepared them for this evening… Total team effort. I can’t say enough about this group. This group is a special group. Version Seven is special, and I’m just very happy to be a part of it.”

The elimination game was nothing short of a dogfight, with the two teams being about as evenly balanced as possible. Oregon recorded one more hit and scored one more run than Ole Miss did (12-11), but both teams were tagged for three defensive errors apiece and stranded double-digits on the bases (12 for the Rebels, 10 for the Ducks).

A first-inning RBI single by Ole Miss shortstop Persy Llamas that scored Rebels outfielder Jaden Pone was followed up by a two-RBI knock from Oregon’s Dezianna Patmon.

And when Llamas again drove in Pone (this time in the fifth), Oregon responded with three RBI knocks in the bottom half. Luschar drove in her older sister, senior outfielder Kai Luschar, with a bunt single, before freshman first baseman Rylee McCoy dropped a double in the gap to bring Kedre home to score. McCoy was pinch-ran for by freshman Elyse Kresho, who scored after an eight-pitch at-bat by second baseman Kaylynn Jones ended in a single.

Ole Miss’ fifth-inning run was one of five credited to junior right-hander Lyndsey Grein, who made the start, but the hit was let up by senior lefty Staci Chambers. Chambers was quickly lifted after the run was scored, facing just the one batter. Another junior, the right-handed Elise Sokolsky, recorded the final out of the fifth and first of the sixth before she too was replaced, with Grein reentering the contest to finish the game.

Although Grein allowed three runs to the Rebels to tie the game in the top of the seventh (a fielder’s choice from catcher Lexie Brady and a two-RBI hit by first baseman Jamie Mackay), Lombardi stuck by the junior. It paid off, with Grein pitching three more scoreless innings before Kedre saw ball four from Ole Miss’ Aliyah Binford to end it.

“(Grein) is just a straight-up competitor on the mound. There’s no way she’s coming out of that game. There’s no way,” Lombardi said. “She’s going to finish it. What I love is that we talk about — at Oregon, we talk about it all starts in the weight room. And the reason why Lyndsey was able to finish that game is because it all starts in the weight room. What she’s done with (strength and conditioning) coach (Kaelin Jackson) has given her the strength, the endurance she needs to start a game like that and come out and reenter it and finish it and get better as the game went on. She got better as the game went on.”

With the two-out break in the middle, Grein logged a total of 9.1 innings of work, threw 144-total pitches (94 for strikes) and faced 42 batters. The junior struck out six while allowing the aforementioned five runs on eight hits and three walks.

The win keeps Oregon alive to see another day at the College World Series, earning a day off with the win. The Ducks will face the loser of No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 6 Texas’ matchup. The elimination game between Oregon and the Red River Rivalry’s rematch will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.