The junior season of college softball for Lincoln-Way Central graduate Lyndsey Grein began with a whirlwind transfer portal experience and a big decision.
It ended with her emerging as one of the top pitchers in the country and leading her new school, Oregon, all the way to the Women’s College World Series.
“It was an amazing year at Oregon,” Grein said. “I wanted to see how hard I can push myself and kind of find those limits. I think just being given the opportunity to grow athletically and as a person at Oregon gave me the opportunity to continue to grind and to get better.”
Grein started her college career at Virginia Tech, going 22-11 with a 3.69 ERA over two solid seasons.
But at Oregon, she truly blossomed. Grein went 30-3 with a 2.21 ERA. She finished second nationally in wins, was named a first team All-American by D1Softball.com and was one of 10 finalists for USA Softball’s national player of the year.
Those individual accolades are not what mattered to Grein, however.
“For me, the way I kind of view it is whatever I do is just to contribute to the team,” Grein said. “If I’m performing by best and it’s helping the team, that’s all that matters to me.
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“That’s where my focus stays. I don’t think my success would have been possible without our coaches and catchers and the other pitchers on the team who all helped me get better.”
Oregon battled back from a 14-1 loss to Stanford and won three straight do-or-die games to advance out of the double-elimination Eugene Regional.
The Ducks then swept Liberty in the best-of-three super regional to advance to the World Series. Grein allowed just one run and struck out 10 in a complete game in a 13-1 Game 2 victory that clinched Oregon’s first WCWS trip since 2018.
“All I could think about in that moment was celebrating with my teammates,” Grein said. “To be able to go with that group was incredibly special. To be able to give them some big hugs and celebrate that moment with our fans at home was really cool.
“It’s definitely a core memory for me.”
Oregon (54-10) went 1-2 at the World Series. The win was a 6-5 thriller over Ole Miss in 10 innings as Grein threw a career-high 144 pitches in 9 1/3 innings.
After that performance, Oregon outfielder Kedre Luschar spoke in the postgame press conference about her confidence in Grein.
“I love Lyndsey,” Luschar said. “She’s a competitor. She’s so fierce. I put her up against any hitter in this country and she’s going to win, and I just know it. I trust her, I believe in her, and she’s so awesome to play behind.”
Grein embraced the opportunity to pitch on the biggest stage in college softball, and she and her teammates are now extra motivated to get back and win it all next season.
“It was truly an honor to be a part of it,” she said. “In our first game against UCLA, I gave myself a second just to look up and take it all in, and then after that, it was just like what I’ve done all season.
“Let myself have that moment and soak it in and then it was all business.”
Grein said that all through the ups and downs of her first two college seasons, the tough decision to transfer and all the highs that came this spring, she’s carried with her advice given to her by Lincoln-Way Central coach Jeff Tarala.
“He taught me to find joy in good and in struggle,” Grein said. “I think in softball and in life, that message has really stuck with me.
“I think being able to find a little bit of positive in whatever you’re going through is so important.”