Ayanna Shaw grand slam lifts Oregon over Idaho State in regional opener

Ayanna Shaw’s grand slam pushed Oregon past Idaho State, 5-1, and kept the Ducks in control of the Eugene Regional at Jane Sanders Stadium as they moved toward a Saturday matchup with Mississippi State. The blast gave Oregon the key swing it needed in a game that carried immediate postseason weight for Lane County fans and for a program trying to stay on track for Oklahoma City.

Oregon entered the NCAA Division I softball tournament as the No. 14 overall seed in the 64-team field and is hosting a regional in Eugene for the second straight season. The bracket at Jane Sanders Stadium includes Oregon, Idaho State, Mississippi State and Saint Mary’s, with the winner moving deeper into the championship path toward the Women’s College World Series later in May.

Mississippi State arrived with momentum of its own after opening the Eugene Regional with a 3-2, eight-inning win over Saint Mary’s. Nadia Barbary’s walk-off single, aided by an error, finished that game and gave the Bulldogs a victory before they ever took the field against Oregon, setting up a Saturday, May 16, 2 p.m. contest that carried extra pressure in the double-elimination format.

Oregon won despite being without ace Lyndsey Grein, and the Ducks leaned on Taylour Spencer and Elise Sokolsky in the circle to handle Idaho State. Oregon’s coaching staff pointed to Sokolsky’s work as a major factor in the regional-opening win, a result that mattered even more because Oregon and Idaho State had already met earlier in the season. For the Ducks, the rematch at Jane Sanders Stadium was the kind of game that can reset a weekend, and Shaw’s swing gave Oregon the cushion it needed to keep the road to Oklahoma City alive.