By Tayten Torgrimson
After a 2-1 series loss to the Stanford Cardinal this past weekend, Oregon gets to stay in Palo Alto, California a bit longer for the final Pac-12 conference tournament. In the last game of this past series, Oregon pulled off what is the best win of the regular season, a 1-0 win against Stanford, which propelled the Ducks to the No. 3 seed for the tournament. A question that remains in fans’ minds: how will the team play without Hanna Delgado? Delgado suffered a devastating injury in the series against Arizona just about a month ago. So far, Oregon has played well without her production — the Arizona series was a wash in my book. Oregon won the game after she got hurt in a fairytale scenario, then lost the next game losing the series 2-1. After that series, Oregon went 4-3 overall, winning the rivalry series against Oregon State, then throttling a talented Northern Colorado and finished off with a series loss against Stanford.
I see the Ducks not having the real opportunity to return home as a blessing in disguise. Extra practice, and time to adjust to Palo Alto gives them a leg up in at least this first game. The opportunity to have some bonding time, which if anyone has kept up on the teams’ rendezvous, the Ducks visited San Francisco for a much-needed break away from the grind of the season before it resumes for the postseason on Thursday, May 9 at 10 a.m.
Will no Hanna Delgado be a factor?
Oregon, in this tournament, will be without a crucial piece in Hanna Delgado. Albeit, Oregon has done well without her production offensively and reliability defensively. In the March series against Utah, Delgado went 4-7 (.571 avg). That will be missed heavily.
Pac-12 Honors
Pac-12 Awards just dropped, and Oregon raked in the awards. Shortstop Paige Sinicki won Co-Defensive Pac-12 Player of the Year. Ariel Carlson and Kai Luschar earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors. Elise Sokolsky earned Second Team All-Pac-12. Alyssa Daniell and Delgado earned Third Team honors. And to round it out, Katie Flannery and Taylour Spencer earned All-Freshman Team honors.
What Oregon needs to do to win the tournament
A point that this station has touched on plenty, especially on our weeknight show “QuackSmack,” is Oregon’s consistency has faltered at times. The pitching is dangerous, and the defense usually is too, but the hitting can falter. To win this tournament, getting on base offensively and then scoring with runners on the bags is going to determine what happens. If Oregon can’t do that, the pitching and defense can play as great as they’d like. Not scoring runs doesn’t win postseason games. If Oregon puts it all together, the chances of winning are legitimate.
Game 1: No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 6 Utah
Oregon fared quite well against Utah in the March 15-March 17 series in Salt Lake City, winning the series 2-1. In the first game of that series, Oregon dominated the Utes winning 20-3 in a five-inning run-rule victory. In that game, every batter for Oregon got at least a hit — five of the batters had two or more. In game 2, Utah came out and bounced back strong, winning 10-7. Utah pitcher, Mariah Lopez had herself a day, throwing all seven innings, totaling five strikeouts and only nine hits. To win the series, Sokolsky led the way for the Ducks, throwing all seven innings, totaling four strikeouts, and allowing just three hits. Utah is looking to defend a Pac-12 title and ride off into the sunset with another.
Factors to consider for both teams
Oregon’s defense has been lights out this season, allowing a conference-low 89 walks, so if the Utes are looking to beat Oregon, they’ll have to do more than watch the ball. Utah does hit well; the Utes rank third in the Pac-12 with 316 RBIs and rank first in hits with 529. Oregon’s defense will need to have the same performance as it did in its 1-0 win over Stanford.
Game 2: No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 2 Stanford/No. 7 Cal
In the regular season, Oregon went .500 against both teams, winning the Cal series in Eugene 2-1 and losing to Stanford 2-1. The outcome of the second game for Oregon purely depends on the first game for both of its potential opponents. Stanford’s offense has struggled a bit beginning with the series against Washington. The Cardinal won every series to end the season, but have only scored 21 runs, averaging just three per game. That doesn’t usually translate well to the postseason. Cal has also fared well since the Oregon series, winning four of eight conference series. Although Cal had a measly record in conference play, finishing 9-13, the overall record is an eye-raiser at 36-16. When Oregon played Cal at the Jane, the Ducks had to scrape and claw for every run earned and did so successfully. I think Delgado being out here is a game-changer. I also don’t think the Ducks has this run in them, and I see the season ending in this game. If Cal can beat Stanford, that prediction changes yet I don’t see that happening.
Game 3: No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 1 UCLA/No. 4 Washington OR No. 5 Arizona
To begin, UCLA shouldn’t have a problem with either Oregon State or Arizona State, albeit the Bruins did lose to the Beavers in Corvallis to close out their series. I just don’t see any issues arising for UCLA. The only series loss for the Bruins this season came at the hands of the Washington Huskies. That series was held in Seattle, so I think weather and temperatures will have a legit factor in who wins the game between Arizona and Washington then the winner of that game against UCLA.
I don’t see UCLA losing to either of these teams. Washington has struggled at the tail end of the season, winning only one of four series. One of those series losses came to the Ducks. I think a matchup against Washington, if both teams make it that far, is ideal for Oregon.