By: Ian Sutliff

Eugene, OR-- The Ducks are coming off a great Campbell/Cartier classic where they took all five games in three days. Now Oregon will face some of its biggest tests this weekend where it will play three ranked opponents and Cal State Fullerton who was receiving votes in the last USA poll. On Friday, Oregon kicks off the Mary Nutter classic with Fullerton, which will be immediately followed by Northwestern on the back end of the doubleheader. 

Oregon Offense: 

Oregon is led by super seniors Allee Bunker and Terra McGowan. Bunker hit two home runs last weekend at the Campbell/Cartier classic while McGowan went 10-18 after starting the season off just 1-13. Two players that have been overlooked though are Alyssa Daniell and Tehya Bird. Daniell leads the team with a .400 batting average which has been a huge help out of the cleanup spot and the team missing Hannna Delgado last weekend. Bird leads the team in extra bases and has been clutch for a team that is somewhat lacking depth at the bottom of its lineup. The junior infielder has four extra base hits including two homers. Overall, this offense has combined to hit .326 this season but will be tested against some of the best arms in the country this weekend.

Oregon Pitching:

It is the Stevie Hansen show for the Ducks and it has been for the last two seasons now. She leads the team in ERA (2.30), WHIP (0.84), and has impressed with 37 strikeouts in 27 innings after tossing a no-hitter against Utah Valley last Friday. What’s most impressive though has been her .168 batting average against. While Hansen will get a bulk of the innings and likely face at least two of the three ranked teams the Ducks play this weekend, it will have to be her bullpen that can bail her out in tough situations. Morgan Scott and Raegan Breedlove are the two best pitchers behind Hansen and even Elise Sokolsky will see innings at the Mary Nutter classic. Scott is second in team ERA with a 2.86 mark but her .333 batting average against, as well as 1.43 WHIP shows that she has been getting lucky with allowing as few runs as she has. Breedlove is someone Oregon really needs to step forward though and with just one start this year, it’s unlikely we see her do anything more than relieve a tired or waning Hansen or Scott. 

Cal State Fullerton Offense:

While it’s still early, the Titans need to get their offense going as it’s averaged just 3.3 runs per game and has held them back in close games. Megan Delgadillo is the star for this team and after being named conference player of the year last season, she is looking like she could earn the title once again. Her .361 batting average and 13 hits leads the team (no one else has 10). Delgadillo isn’t a power hitter but her contact is what the Titans love at the top of the lineup as she has struck out just four times in 36 at-bats in the 2023 campaign. Alexa Niel is also one of the best contact hitters on this team and sits right behind Delgadillo with a .346 average and carries a .433 OBP. The most dangerous hitter in this lineup though is Hannah Becerra. Don’t let her .250 batting average fool you. She has gone deep three times this season and has a .462 OBP which is a big teller of how much opposing pitchers are afraid to pitch to her. On top of that, the junior infielder has already stolen five bases. Fullerton will need to improve upon its .202 team batting average this weekend and give some help to a strong top of the lineup.

Cal State Fullerton Pitching:

Only three pitchers have made multiple appearances for Fullerton this season, but that is just fine for Kelly Ford’s team. Myka Sutherlin is the pitcher to watch for the Titans as she has easily been the most dominant of the three regulars. Allowing just 21 hits over 28 innings to go along with 31 strikeouts and just eight walks has helped Fullerton greatly this season. Her WHIP sits at just over 1 and her ERA is an impressive 1.50 in eight appearances. Sophomore Hailey Rainey, while less dominant, has posted some of the best numbers for this Titans team. In nine appearances, she has allowed just four earned runs in 28 ⅓ innings which is good for a 0.99 ERA. Her control hasn’t been the best at times as she has walked 15 batters, but makes up for it by limiting contact (17 hits allowed).

Northwestern Offense:

One of the better contact hitting teams in the nation, Northwestern relies on bat-to-ball skills rather than the long ball. In fact, the wildcats have only gone deep twice this year thanks to a pair of homers from Angela Zedak. Jordyn Rudd is also one of the most dangerous hitters in the nation as the grad student catcher is hitting .360 on the year. She has an impressive 10.3% strikeout rate and her OBP is .448. Kelsey Nader and Maeve Nelson are the other two hitters that hit over .300 on this team and have been some of the best hitters in the clutch as the Wildcats have faced one of the toughest early season schedules in the nation thus far. This is a very veteran team and Skyler Shellmyer will also get a lot of time as she has already totalled seven hits in her first 18 at-bats.

Northwestern Pitching:

The pitching for Northwestern has struggled so far but they have been tested more than most with five of eight games coming against ranked teams. Cami Henry and Lauren Boyd are the aces for this squad and the only two pitchers with an ERA under eight in the early season. Henry has thrown two complete games for the Wildcats but has looked shaky at times despite her 2.88 ERA. She’s allowed six doubles and a pair of home runs while her WHIP sits at 1.47. She’ll need to limit the extra base hits and walks this weekend to help Northwestern. This will also be a big series for Danielle Williams who has been hit hard in her first four appearances. She allowed seven runs between Missouri and Clemson who are ranked, but also allowed seven hits over 3 ⅔ innings to Notre Dame in her most recent appearance. Now the Wildcats have to go through Oregon, UCLA, and Kentucky in three straight games so the pitching depth will be tested heavily and if the team ERA jumps from its current 5.42 mark after this weekend, it will be a big concern going forward.