OREGON BSB PREVIEW: Oregon Ducks host Seattle Redhawks in four-game series

By Olivia Mock  

EUGENE, Ore. — This week, the Oregon Ducks (15-7, 6-3 PAC-12) will take a break from conference play and welcome the Seattle University Redhawks (7-16, 3-6 WAC) to Eugene. Starting Wednesday, the two teams will play a four-game series at PK Park.  

Oregon Ducks  

The Ducks come fresh off a 2-1 series victory over Arizona. Outfielder Jeffery Heard and third baseman Carter Garate remain as Oregon’s leading hitters, batting .348 and .350 respectively this season. One of last week’s standouts was outfielder Bryce Bottcher, who had a season-high three RBI and a home run off two hits during Saturday’s game. Additionally, Grayson Grinsell continues to prove himself on the mound, allowing one earned run on just three hits over the 4.2 innings he pitched. While the Ducks outlasted the Wildcats over the series, they’re playing on the heels of a tough 15-4 loss on Sunday. Shifting the infield proved beneficial for Oregon’s defense, however, there is still room for improvement in the bullpen, which allowed 14 hits and five walks in Sunday’s loss. This week, the Ducks aim to bounce back and regain some of their previous momentum.   

Seattle Redhawks  

The Redhawks come to Eugene after a 1-2 series loss to Utah Tech. On Friday, they came away with their win and beat the Trailblazers 5-3. Outfielder Cole Kleckner stands out as a batter on this team, with a .363 average this season. During Friday’s win, catcher Grant Heiser garnered some attention at bat as well, with two RBIs and two runs off two hits. On the mound, Blake Smith allowed only one earned run while pitching three strikeouts. After showing promise early on, Seattle lost the last two games of the series, ending with a 14-3 defeat on Sunday, their first in-conference home loss since 2022. Coming into this week’s series, the Redhawks look for a comeback win over an out-of-conference opponent.  

Prediction  

The Redhawks have yet to beat a PAC-12 team this season, losing both of their games against Washington State. However, Oregon should not underestimate an out-of-conference team aiming to make a statement. The Ducks look to carry on the momentum they built throughout the season and tighten up some issues in the bullpen. I predict they pull off their first series sweep since February, although I do see the potential for some more pitching issues in the later games of this longer series.  

OREGON SB PREVIEW: The Oregon Ducks take on Arizona State at home

By Isaac Dubey

In the Ducks’ third series of PAC-12 play, Oregon Softball (16-10, 4-2) will play host to the Arizona State Sun Devils (17-11, 2-4) this weekend in a three-game stint. Last weekend, the Ducks traveled to Salt Lake City and came out of Utah winning two of three matchups In the first one the Ducks scored 20 runs, the most in a game since 2015.

No. 24 Oregon Ducks

Coming into the Utah series, the Ducks struggled to consistently score against quality pitching competition. Scoring 14 runs in three games against Cal to start PAC-12 play was a sign the Ducks’ hitting was trending in the right direction. That was before the scoring onslaught that was last Friday at Salt Lake City in which every Duck in the starting rotation got a hit and eight different Ducks drove in a run. Alyssa Daniell led the way with a career-high three hits, three runs and three RBIs. The Ducks continued their red-hot hitting into the next day and scored seven runs in the first three innings, but Utah responded with seven runs of their own in the fourth and fifth innings to top Oregon 10-7. The third and final game was highlighted by Elise Sokolsky throwing her first complete game as a Duck as Oregon won 5-1. Only allowing one run on the day, Sokolsky also didn’t allow a hit after the third inning. The Ducks allow a 2.72 ERA (66th in the nation) and a 1.19 WHIP pitching as a team. The Ducks boast a .320 batting average (33rd in the nation) on the year and Ariel Carlson leads the Ducks with eight home runs and 31 RBIs, while Kai Luschar has the most hits on the team with 41.

Arizona State Sun Devils
After two straight wins against No. 5 Washington and Grand Canyon, the Sun Devils had their first home PAC-12 opponent of the season, in a three-game series last weekend against Oregon State. The first game ended in disappointment for the Sun Devils as they gave up a two-run homer at the top of the seventh and ultimately lost 5-3. The second of three games ended with the same result as a back-and-forth matchup concluded with the Sun Devils allowing six runs at the bottom of the seventh inning to finish with a 10-5 loss. However, the Sun Devils were able to pull out a win in the final game as Marissa Schuld pitched a complete game, only gave up one run, and assisted the Sun Devils to cruise to a 5-1 win. The Sun Devils have an impressive .325 batting average (24th in the nation) on the season, but are not as effective on the mound with a 3.87 ERA allowed (158th nationally). Two players to watch on the mound for the Sun Devils are senior pitchers Mac Osborne who has 52 strikeouts on the year and a 3.62 ERA and Deborah Jones with 44 strikeouts and a 4.05 ERA so far this season. Alesia Denby is statically Arizona State’s best hitter with seven home runs and 21 RBI. Meanwhile, sophomore standout Tanya Windle has 32 hits on the season with a .427 batting average which both lead the team.

Prediction:
I believe the defining factor in this series is Oregon’s pitching. Although statistically the Sun Devils are a great hitting and scoring team, they have been shut out in every game against top 25 opponents this year. If the Ducks can continue this trend they could take all three games in Eugene this weekend. Strong performances from the bullpen will prove to be the difference in this series and may assist Oregon Softball in making a case as a top 20 team in the nation.