Friday, March 15
Tucson, AZ
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
at
Arizona
Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Ducks Open Pac-12 Play at No. 12 Arizona
03/12/19 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon softball team will kick off conference play this weekend in Tucson, Ariz., with a three-game series against No. 12 Arizona at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
The Ducks (11-10) are looking to snap a six-game losing streak after dropping three very competitive games to No. 19 Oklahoma State last weekend in Eugene. Oregon and Arizona will open the weekend at 6 p.m. on Friday, with game two set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday's game will be available to watch on the Arizona live stream, while Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks (Cindy Brunson and Kenzie Fowler). Matt Tyra and KWVA Sports will have the radio call for all three games at 88.1 FM or kwvaradio.org/listen-live, and live stats can be found at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com.
ABOUT NO. 12 ARIZONA
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-2 weekend against then-No. 1 Florida State, including an 11-3 run-rule win over the Seminoles. Arizona also has ranked wins over Michigan, Oklahoma State and Minnesota. The Wildcats boast a ton of power in their lineup, led by Pac-12 home run leaders Jessie Harper (13) and Dejah Mulipola (10). Taylor McQuillin has been a workhorse in the circle with a 1.73 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 81.0 innings pitched. Oregon currently owns a four-game winning streak over the Wildcats.
DAIL ESTABLISHING ACE REPUTATION
SO LHP Jordan Dail has made quite the first impression with the Ducks after transferring from Virginia Tech. Dail (9-5, 2.75 ERA) has been an absolute workhorse for Oregon so far in 2019, ranking third in the nation in innings pitched (96.2) and 11th in strikeouts (104). The Forest, Va., native has thrown nine complete games and two shutouts, including her first career no-hitter on Feb. 16 against Florida Atlantic, and she leads the Pac-12 in games started (13) and appearances (17).
YOUNG DUCKS FLASHING THE LEATHER
Oregon's defense, which has often been comprised of all underclassmen around the infield, has been incredibly solid so far this season. The Ducks lead the Pac-12 and are eighth nationally in fielding percentage (.980), committing a conference-low 10 errors through the first 21 games. Oregon did not commit a single error last weekend against Oklahoma State, and SR OF Cherish Burks was tremendous in left field with three highlight-reel diving catches. Oregon also leads the conference in runners caught stealing (11), led by SO UT Shaye Bowden's Pac-12-best nine from behind the plate.
Oregon has shown great patience at the plate so far this season, ranking second in the Pac-12 in walks (94) and fourth in on-base percentage (.392). JR OF Haley Cruse leads the conference and is 12th in the nation with 18 walks, six more than she had in 130 at-bats last season, while FR IF Rachel Cid (16) and SR C/1B April Utecht (15) are tied for third and fifth in the Pac-12, respectively. Cruse also ranks ninth in the conference with a team-best .468 on-base percentage.
WEEKEND RECAP VS. NO. 19 OKLAHOMA STATE
Game One - Oklahoma State 3, Oregon 0
SO LHP Jordan Dail was solid in the circle with eight strikeouts over seven innings, but the Ducks couldn't break through vs. OSU ace Samantha Show. UO got its leadoff hitter on every inning after the first, but was unable to come up with the big hit as OSU took game one, 3-0.
Game Two - Oklahoma State 7, Oregon 6
RBIs by SR OF Cherish Burks and FR IF Jasmine Sievers gave UO a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but OSU scored five unanswered to take a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. FR IF Rachel Cid hit a two-run homer to make it 7-5 and FR C Annalisa Williamson's first career home run made it 7-6 with two outs, but OSU ended the game with a strikeout to secure the series win.
Game Three - Oklahoma State 9, Oregon 6
The Ducks got a gritty complete-game effort from freshman walk-on RHP Kailey Krueger, but fell just short in their second comeback attempt of the day on Saturday after OSU built a 7-2 lead with a six-run third inning. JR OF Haley Cruse had a career-high three hits and tied her career-high with three RBIs, and SO UT Shaye Bowden drove in two with a two-run double.
WALK-ONS IMPRESS AGAINST TOP-20 COMPETITION
Walk-on freshmen Kailey Krueger and Annalisa Williamson came through with the biggest moments of their young careers last weekend vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State. Krueger, who joined the team in early February and had not pitched competitively since May 2018, went seven full innings against OSU in Saturday's second game and gave the Ducks a chance to win. Williamson, who joined the team in mid-January, delivered her first career home run to get Oregon within one run with two outs in the seventh inning of the first game on Saturday, a solo shot to center off of OSU ace Samantha Show.
The Ducks have relied heavily on freshmen early on in 2019, with IF Allee Bunker, IF Rachel Cid, UT Hannah Galey, IF Jasmine Sievers and OF Lexi Wagner all starting at least 17 games already. Sievers leads the Ducks with a .340 batting average and Cid leads the team in home runs (4) and is tied for the lead in RBIs (16). Cid (3B), Sievers (SS), Bunker (2B) and Galey (1B) have held down the infield for the majority of games, and Wagner has started 20 games in right field and had two huge RBIs in Oregon's comeback win over Texas A&M on Feb. 23.
TOP-25 STREAK COMES TO AN END
Oregon softball's impressive streak of being ranked in the USA Today/NFCA top-25 poll came to end this week when the Ducks were receiving votes in the week five edition of the rankings. Oregon had been ranked in the top 25 for 139 straight weeks (preseason and postseason polls included), dating back to week 10 of the 2010 season.
UP NEXT
Oregon will host No. 5 Washington next weekend in its first Pac-12 home series at Jane Sanders Stadium.
The Ducks (11-10) are looking to snap a six-game losing streak after dropping three very competitive games to No. 19 Oklahoma State last weekend in Eugene. Oregon and Arizona will open the weekend at 6 p.m. on Friday, with game two set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday's game will be available to watch on the Arizona live stream, while Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks (Cindy Brunson and Kenzie Fowler). Matt Tyra and KWVA Sports will have the radio call for all three games at 88.1 FM or kwvaradio.org/listen-live, and live stats can be found at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com.
ABOUT NO. 12 ARIZONA
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-2 weekend against then-No. 1 Florida State, including an 11-3 run-rule win over the Seminoles. Arizona also has ranked wins over Michigan, Oklahoma State and Minnesota. The Wildcats boast a ton of power in their lineup, led by Pac-12 home run leaders Jessie Harper (13) and Dejah Mulipola (10). Taylor McQuillin has been a workhorse in the circle with a 1.73 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 81.0 innings pitched. Oregon currently owns a four-game winning streak over the Wildcats.
DAIL ESTABLISHING ACE REPUTATION
SO LHP Jordan Dail has made quite the first impression with the Ducks after transferring from Virginia Tech. Dail (9-5, 2.75 ERA) has been an absolute workhorse for Oregon so far in 2019, ranking third in the nation in innings pitched (96.2) and 11th in strikeouts (104). The Forest, Va., native has thrown nine complete games and two shutouts, including her first career no-hitter on Feb. 16 against Florida Atlantic, and she leads the Pac-12 in games started (13) and appearances (17).
YOUNG DUCKS FLASHING THE LEATHER
Oregon's defense, which has often been comprised of all underclassmen around the infield, has been incredibly solid so far this season. The Ducks lead the Pac-12 and are eighth nationally in fielding percentage (.980), committing a conference-low 10 errors through the first 21 games. Oregon did not commit a single error last weekend against Oklahoma State, and SR OF Cherish Burks was tremendous in left field with three highlight-reel diving catches. Oregon also leads the conference in runners caught stealing (11), led by SO UT Shaye Bowden's Pac-12-best nine from behind the plate.
DUCKS TAKING PATIENT PLATE APPROACHFlash the leather. Oregon leads the Pac-12 and is 8th in the nation in fielding percentage (.980) after another solid defensive showing last weekend at #TheJane. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/jutAhkhahl
— Oregon Softball (@OregonSB) March 12, 2019
Oregon has shown great patience at the plate so far this season, ranking second in the Pac-12 in walks (94) and fourth in on-base percentage (.392). JR OF Haley Cruse leads the conference and is 12th in the nation with 18 walks, six more than she had in 130 at-bats last season, while FR IF Rachel Cid (16) and SR C/1B April Utecht (15) are tied for third and fifth in the Pac-12, respectively. Cruse also ranks ninth in the conference with a team-best .468 on-base percentage.
WEEKEND RECAP VS. NO. 19 OKLAHOMA STATE
Game One - Oklahoma State 3, Oregon 0
SO LHP Jordan Dail was solid in the circle with eight strikeouts over seven innings, but the Ducks couldn't break through vs. OSU ace Samantha Show. UO got its leadoff hitter on every inning after the first, but was unable to come up with the big hit as OSU took game one, 3-0.
Game Two - Oklahoma State 7, Oregon 6
RBIs by SR OF Cherish Burks and FR IF Jasmine Sievers gave UO a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but OSU scored five unanswered to take a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. FR IF Rachel Cid hit a two-run homer to make it 7-5 and FR C Annalisa Williamson's first career home run made it 7-6 with two outs, but OSU ended the game with a strikeout to secure the series win.
Game Three - Oklahoma State 9, Oregon 6
The Ducks got a gritty complete-game effort from freshman walk-on RHP Kailey Krueger, but fell just short in their second comeback attempt of the day on Saturday after OSU built a 7-2 lead with a six-run third inning. JR OF Haley Cruse had a career-high three hits and tied her career-high with three RBIs, and SO UT Shaye Bowden drove in two with a two-run double.
WALK-ONS IMPRESS AGAINST TOP-20 COMPETITION
Walk-on freshmen Kailey Krueger and Annalisa Williamson came through with the biggest moments of their young careers last weekend vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State. Krueger, who joined the team in early February and had not pitched competitively since May 2018, went seven full innings against OSU in Saturday's second game and gave the Ducks a chance to win. Williamson, who joined the team in mid-January, delivered her first career home run to get Oregon within one run with two outs in the seventh inning of the first game on Saturday, a solo shot to center off of OSU ace Samantha Show.
FRESHMEN SHOULDERING HEAVY LOADHere's a look at the first home run of Annalisa Williamson's collegiate career. Congrats, @_annalisaw_! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/IbYrjecZ9e
— Oregon Softball (@OregonSB) March 9, 2019
The Ducks have relied heavily on freshmen early on in 2019, with IF Allee Bunker, IF Rachel Cid, UT Hannah Galey, IF Jasmine Sievers and OF Lexi Wagner all starting at least 17 games already. Sievers leads the Ducks with a .340 batting average and Cid leads the team in home runs (4) and is tied for the lead in RBIs (16). Cid (3B), Sievers (SS), Bunker (2B) and Galey (1B) have held down the infield for the majority of games, and Wagner has started 20 games in right field and had two huge RBIs in Oregon's comeback win over Texas A&M on Feb. 23.
TOP-25 STREAK COMES TO AN END
Oregon softball's impressive streak of being ranked in the USA Today/NFCA top-25 poll came to end this week when the Ducks were receiving votes in the week five edition of the rankings. Oregon had been ranked in the top 25 for 139 straight weeks (preseason and postseason polls included), dating back to week 10 of the 2010 season.
UP NEXT
Oregon will host No. 5 Washington next weekend in its first Pac-12 home series at Jane Sanders Stadium.
Players Mentioned
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