By Levi Bergthold
#23 Oregon will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the #2 seed for its Regional matchup, in a grouping featuring #4 Arkansas, Wichita State and Princeton. This is the Ducks 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance; they will open Regional play against the #3 seed Wichita State Friday, at 5:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+). Oregon finished its season on a high note, going 5-1 to close out the regular season, in stark contrast to the brutal 2-11 stretch before that. Facing the nation’s second toughest schedule, the Ducks went 10-14 in conference play (31-17 overall), good for 5th in the PAC-12.
The Ducks pitching staff came to life to close out the
regular season. After unexpectedly
losing ace LHP Brooke Yanez before the season, the starting rotation was thrown
into flux, and Freshman RHP Stevie Hansen was forced into the workhorse role,
with RHP Makenna Kliethermes as the alternate starter. Both struggled with inconsistency but were
dominant over the last two series.
Hansen pitched a combined 20.1 innings over 5 appearances, giving up 5
earned runs with 14 strikeouts and 5 walks, good for an ERA of 2.24. This included a gem of a final start,
pitching a complete game shutout in the season finale, a 3-0 victory over
Stanford. Kliethermes also finished the
year on a high note, pitching 16.1 innings over her final 3 appearances, giving
up 4 earned runs with 17 strikeouts and 4 walks, equaling Hansen’s ERA of 2.24.
The PAC-12 released their All-Conference teams, and
Oregon was rewarded with four appearances, plus three All-Defensive team and
three All-Freshman team players. Junior Catcher
Terra McGowan earned 1st Team All-PAC-12 honors after her tremendous
season both behind and on the plate. She
missed over a month due to an injury, but her excellent play made her
impossible to exclude from the 1st Team. She batted a 0.400 average, with 14 RBI’s, 10
extra base hits and just 3 strikeouts on the season. Senior Allee Bunker made the 2nd
Team at 2nd Base, and Sophomore Hanna Delgado (Centerfield) and
Freshman Stevie Hansen made the 3rd team. Bunker, McGowan, and Freshman Paige Sinicki
(Shortstop) made the All-Defensive Team; Sinicki, Hansen and Allison Benning
(Designated Player) made the All-Freshman team.
Opponent Previews
Third Seed: Wichita State: 33-16 (14-4 AAC)
The Wichita State Shockers boast one of the best
statistical offenses in the country, best known for their long ball – they
crushed 118 over the season, 2nd best in the nation, matching their 407
season runs scored (8.3 per game), also good for 2nd in the nation. They are led by two prolific bats: AAC Player of the Year RF Addison Bernard and
1st Team All-AAC player SS Sydney McKinney. Bernard is batting 0.409, striking out 32
times and walking 22. She leads the
nations in home runs with 32, which is 3rd most in NCAA history in a
single season. She is the only player in
the nation to have at least 20 home runs and 20 or more stolen bases. McKinney is less of a power hitter, but knows
how to find contact, batting an absurd 0.511 average, with only 14 strikeouts
and 16 walks. Her batting average is the
best in the nation. While their offense
has been elite, their pitching as struggled.
Their two primary pitchers, Senior’s Erin McDonald and Caitlin Bingham,
have ERA’s 4.01 and 4.27 respectively.
The pitching staff’s cumulative ERA is 4.00. Their path to victory lies through outscoring
their opponents.
The Ducks have met Wichita State 5 times. Oregon holds a 4-1 lead, with the most recent
matchup happening in 2009, when the Shockers won 15-12.
First Seed: #4 Arkansas: 44-9 (19-5 SEC)
The Arkansas Razorbacks are the SEC champions and boast
one of the more complete teams in the country.
6 Razorbacks made 1st Team All-SEC, including SEC Player of
the Year Centerfielder KB Sides and SEC Pitcher of the Year RHP Chenise
Delce. Sides bats 0.395, with 41 walks
drawn, 22 strikeouts, and 12 homeruns, and Delce pitched 128 innings, with 161
strikeouts, 33 walks and an ERA of 2.19.
The offense is also highlighted by 1B Danielle Gibson, who is one of 10
finalists for USA Softball’s National Player of the Year award. Gibson bats in the leadoff spot for Arkansas,
with a 0.442 average, 16 strikeouts, 14 walks and 18 home runs. The Razorbacks offense boasts a team batting
average of 0.337, 102 home runs, and 388 runs scored – all ranking 4th
nationally. 3 Arkansas pitchers have
ERA’s south of 3.00, including alternate starter RHP Mary Haff, who was the
2021 SEC Pitcher of the Year. This team
is dominant in all facets of the game and will be a tough outing for the Ducks.
The Ducks are 2-0 against the Razorbacks all time,
winning their most recent matchup 8-7 in 2011.
Fourth Seed: Princeton: 27-15-2 (17-4 Ivy)
The Princeton Tigers are making their 11th
NCAA Tournament appearance, courtesy of an Ivy League championship. Princeton’s pitching staff is one of the best
in their conference, led by Junior RHP Alexis Laudenslager. She won Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, with
a 1.93 ERA, and 138 strikeouts to just 55 walks, over 109 innings pitched. Princeton’s other Junior RHP starter is Ali
Blanchard, boasting a 2.65 ERA, 151 strikeouts and 40 walks over 105.2 innings. In addition to those 105.2 innings, Blanchard
went to the plate 85 times, batting 0.306 with a home run, 13 strikeouts and 6
walks as a Designated Player. Including
Laudenslager, the Tigers sent 6 players to the All-Ivy League 1st
team. This includes Designated Player
Adrienne Chang, who leads the team in batting average (0.368). Laudenslager, Blanchard, and Chang also
represented Princeton in the NFCA 3rd Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region
team, but Chang has been rotating in and out of the lineup of late. Princeton has the worst resume of any team in
this Regional. They are ranked 122nd
in RPI (highest in Ivy League) and have gone 0-2 against top-50 RPI teams this
season.
Oregon won the only matchup with Princeton, a 7-0
victory in 1996.
Final Thoughts
Oregon faces a tough road to advance through the double
elimination bracket of the Regional.
While Oregon’s pitching ended the season on a strong note, Stevie Hansen
has struggled with giving up home runs – the Ducks happened to draw teams in
Wichita State and Arkansas that hit for the 2nd and 4th
most home runs nationally. Oregon can
draw some encouragement that Wichita State has faced an easier schedule (and
thus inflated statistics), but Arkansas is the champion of the SEC, which
boasts nine top 25 ranked teams. Oregon’s
path to victory involves Hansen and Kliethermes riding their hot streaks from
the regular season. In the Regional,
only Arkansas has elite pitching, so generating offense against the Razorbacks
is key – the Ducks have a season’s worth of practice stealing bases (1.69 per
game, ranked 28th nationally), and they will need all their speed to
score against the Razorbacks defense.
Final Prediction
This regional goes all chalk. Arkansas is too good and too deep, and they
end up advancing, beating Oregon twice.