Big Weekend at The Jane Next for Softball

After winning its first two conference series, No. 22 Oregon returns to Jane Sanders Stadium to host Arizona State for a three-game series Friday through Sunday. The ASU games will be the Ducks' first on the Pac-12 Networks this season.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oregon ranks seventh nationally and leads the Pac-12 in fielding percentage (.981). The Ducks have committed just 13 errors on the season - tied for the fewest in the conference,

PAC-12 LEADERBOARD
Ariel Carlson is now second in the league in home runs (8), RBI (34), and slugging percentage (.781). She's also seventh in the league in stolen bases (9). Kai Luschar continues to lead the league in stolen bases (18) and is second in hits (41).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
20 - The Ducks have held their opponents to three earned runs or less 20 times in 26 games this season.
55 - Oregon leads the Pac-12 and ranks 15th nationally with 55 stolen bases on the season.
3- Oregon has 3 of the Pac-12's top 5 pitchers in fewest BB per 7 IP - Stevie Hansen (2nd), Morgan Scott (3rd) and Taylour Spencer (5th).
36 - With 2 HR in the Utah series, Ariel Carlson now has 36 career home runs and is tied for eighth on the UO career list.
8 - Ariel Carlson is the only player in the Pac-12 with 8+ HR and 8+ steals.

ELITE LEVEL DEFENSE
A hallmark of coach Melyssa Lombardi's program, Oregon is again one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Ducks are seventh nationally and lead the Pac-12 and in fielding percentage (.981). Two years ago (2022), Oregon led the Pac-12 and ranked 10th nationally with a .977 fielding percentage. That mark tied the program record set the year before (2021).

GLOVE WORK
Oregon committed two errors in the season opener against Maryland and then had a stretch of 23 games committing one error or less. The streak ended when the Ducks had two errors March 16 at Utah. Oregon has 15 error-free games, nine single-error games and two, two error games so far in 2024.

SOKOLSKY THROWS GEM AT UTAH
Elise Sokolsky threw her first complete game as a Duck last Sunday at Utah in Oregon's 5-1 win, going the distance to help the Ducks win the series. She allowed one run on three hits, striking out four and walking three. She didn't give up a hit after the third inning and struck out the side in the fourth inning. She also retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

TOP OF THE PAC
Oregon has walked the fewest batters in the Pac-12 this season - 39 - and ranks third in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54-to-1).

CARLSON TOP TWO IN POWER STATS
After homering in four of the last six games, Ariel Carlson now ranks second in the Pac-12 in home runs (8), RBI (31) and slugging percentage. She's also seventh in stolen bases with nine, making her the only player in the conference with eight more home runs and steals. Carlson has a hit in all six Pac-12 games. She's 8-for-18 (.444) in league games with four home runs and nine RBI. She's also been walked six times and has three stolen bases. Carlson recently entered the UO career top 10 in home runs and is currently tied for eighth with 36.

CARLSON SPARKS SERIES WIN AT UTAH
Ariel Carlson homered twice and drove in six runs to help Oregon win its series at March 15-17 Utah, two-games-to-one. She hit .375 for the series (3-for-8) and was walked five times, giving her an on-base percentage of .615. Her three-run home run put the Ducks ahead for good in Sunday's 5-1 win.

LUSCHAR PACING PAC-12
Kai Luschar leads the Pac-12 in steals (18) and is second in hits (41), average (.461) and on-base percentage (.515). Nationally, she's eighth in steals, 12th in hits and 16th in batting average. She also one of the toughest batters to strike out - going more than 22 plate appearances (22.3) between strikeouts.