EUGENE -- It would be easy for DJ Sanders to forget about her performance on senior day.

The Louisiana transfer and former All-American turned starting shortstop for the Ducks went 1 for 4 and struck out twice in No. 2 Oregon's final regular-season game at The Jane on Sunday, an 8-1 win over Utah.

Fellow seniors Gwen Svekis (2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs) and Lauren Lindvall (2 for 3 with four RBIs) had more impact on the game for the Ducks (44-7, 18-3 Pac-12), who have now won 10 in a row after completing the three-game sweep of the Utes (20-28, 2-19).

Sanders, who is second on the team in home runs (13), RBIs (39) and total bases (85), singled and later scored in the third inning but was otherwise quiet at the plate.

But Sanders still considered Sunday memorable because of one special guest: her older sister DeShuni Sanders, whom DJ credits as the reason she plays softball.

Sunday was the first time DeShuni watched DJ play in an Oregon uniform.

"I wish I would've played better for her, but if there is one person that will give it to me straight, it's her," Sanders said.

"She's probably going to remind me she's better than me," Sanders added, laughing, "then maybe give me some encouraging words."

DeShuni graduated in 2013 from Union University in Tennessee, where she played the last two years of her college career. She's since hung up her cleats and started a family in the Sanders' hometown of Columbus, Mississippi, which is a long, but manageable, six-hour drive from DJ's former school, the University of Louisiana.

For the three years that DJ played for the Ragin' Cajuns, DeShuni and their parents, Renee and Donnie, made an effort to go as many of DJ's games as they could. But when DJ transferred to Oregon this past season, it severely limited their ability, especially DeShuni's, to watch DJ play.

As a former college athlete herself, DeShuni knew that senior day is special and worked to make the cross-country trip possible. She picked up a part-time second job -- as a stay-at-home customer service rep for Amazon -- and saved enough money to travel to Eugene.

"It was special that she thought enough of this day to take off and come out and watch me play," Sanders said. "Even though I didn't play as well as I wanted to, I think that says enough, just how special she thinks it is that she would do that for me."

When you consider the sisters' relationship, DeShuni's decision becomes obvious. Being the oldest of three sisters, and five years DJ's elder, DeShuni was the first in the family to pick up softball. DJ wasted no time in following her sister's footsteps and played above her age group for most of her career.

The two even played together on the same team in high school when DJ was only a seventh grader.

"She was always a standout," DeShuni Sanders said.

Softball has dominated the Sanders' lives thus far, and DJ even admitted that she thought it was the only sport that existed when she was younger. The passion for the game that DJ developed through playing with her sister made DJ the player she is today. It was also part of the reason why she transferred to Oregon: She wanted to fulfill her dream of playing in the College Softball World Series.

As for that goal, Oregon looks poised to make another trip to Oklahoma City. They've won 10 consecutive games and close out conference play next weekend against Cal in Berkeley before postseason play begins.

If Oregon makes it through both regionals and super regionals, DeShuni said that she would try to make the trip to Oklahoma City, a much more manageable trek than the one she made this weekend.

-- Gus Morris for The Oregonian/OregonLive