EUGENE, Ore.—You can tempt fate only so many times before it accepts your offer.

The Idaho State softball team came out fast, staking pitcher Marley Goluskin to an early 1-0 lead in the Bengals' NCAA tournament game at No. 9 Oregon Friday night. But Goluskin dug herself into a couple of deep holes with control issues, and the Ducks inevitably took advantage, knocking out the Big Sky Pitcher of the Year and knocking off the Bengals, 5-1.

The Bengals got a break to open the game, with Ducks All-American pitcher Lindsey Grein, 23-6 on the year, sidelined by an eye infection. ISU took immediate advantage against her replacement, Taylour Spencer, who gave up a double to Alyssa Yee, an RBI single to Ava Brown and another single to Sydney Groves to open the game.

But the Bengals could get only one run out of all that early noise, and Spencer and reliever Else Sokolsky gradually locked down the ISU offense the rest of the evening.

In the meantime, Goluskin, who got off to a good start, began struggling to hit the strike zone. She walked two Ducks and hit a third to load the bases with two outs in the third, only to escape on a double-play ground ball to end the inning.

But the next inning, Goluskin walked leadoff hitter Stefini Ma'ake, then her diving effort to field a bunt came up just short, to put the first two Ducks on base. A base hit by Rylie McCoy loaded the bases for Oregon sophomore outfielder Ayanna Shaw, who had hit only one home run in her career with the Ducks.

And, just like that first home run, Shaw lofted another grand slam off a hanging breaking ball from Goluskin into the right-center field bleachers to put Oregon up 4-1.

Kasey Aguinaga relieved Goluskin and immediately walked Katie Flannery, hit Elon Butler, then couldn't handle a hard-hit ball back to the box off the bat of Amari Harper, which scored the final run of the game.

Sokolsky came on in relief of Spencer with one out and one on in the top of the fourth inning and retired all 11 Bengals she faced, striking out six, to earn the win.

Aguinaga settled in and pitched well to close out the game, giving up just one run and one hit in three innings.

Offensively, Brown had a pair of hits, including the run-scoring single in the first and a double, and Groves had a hit and a walk, but the Bengal bats fell silent after the fourth inning.

It was the second time this season that ISU has lost to the Ducks, who finished tied for second in the Big Ten Conference. The first came in February, when Oregon overcame a late 3-2 Bengal lead to win 4-3 in extra innings.

ISU gets a chance to bounce back Saturday, when they face St. Mary's, the champions of the West Coast Conference, in a loser-out game scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. The Gaels dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 contest to Mississippi State on Friday, blowing a two-run lead late on a fielding error, then falling in the eighth inning.

The Gaels swept both North Colorado and Montana, two of ISU's Big Sky brethren, in three-game series during the season, but lost both meetings with Sacramento State, 2-0 and 4-0.