By John Evans
EUGENE, OR - This weekend at Jane Sanders Stadium, #13-ranked Oregon Softball will host the #20 Utah Utes for the last three-game series of the regular season. The Ducks enter this final series with a 35-11 record on the season and are riding a 13-game win streak that included series sweeps of Arizona State, Arizona, and Cal. The visiting Utes currently sit fifth in the Pac-12 standings, with a 31-13 overall record this season, and a 12-9 record against Pac-12 opponents.
Oregon
The Ducks have been on an absolute heater lately, with a 13-game win streak that included series sweeps over three Pac-12 rivals, and dominating wins against the lower competition they faced. Oregon has not lost a series since dropping two out of three games to UCLA in late March, who is now the #2 team in the country, with one of their only four losses on the season coming to the Ducks. Since losing three straight series to top 10 teams in Washington, Stanford, and UCLA, Oregon has had a 15-1 record, with their only loss coming over a month ago at Oregon State. Over this dominant stretch, the Ducks have outscored their opponents 117-33, an average margin of over five runs per game. With a dominating offense and stifling defense, Oregon is looking like a threat to make a deep postseason run.
The breakouts of Morgan Scott and Raegan Breedlove have highlighted this 15-1 stretch. Since April 1, Scott has been absolutely dominant, pitching to the tune of a 1.38 ERA and 0.898 WHIP with 33 strikeouts over 45.2 innings, emerging as a deadly one-two punch with Stevie Hansen. Meanwhile, Breedlove has helped out with a 1.35 ERA and 1.161 WHIP over 20.2 innings of her own. Scott and Breedlove taking on a bigger role within the pitching staff has lightened the load on Stevie Hansen as well. Earlier in the season, the Ducks pretty much only went as far as Hansen’s pitching would take them, but recently Scott and Breedlove have taken the pressure off of her, meaning she can always be at the top of her game when she’s in the circle.
As it’s the last home game of the season, Sunday will also be Senior Day at Jane Sanders Stadium. The Ducks will be recognizing the accomplishments of Alle Bunker, Terra McGowan, Karissa Ornelas, Kyla Morris, and Katelyn Howard. Bunker and McGowan lead the team with OPSs of 1.124 and 1.043 respectively, and have been arguably the two most valuable players on the entire team this season. Bunker’s .408 batting average ranks fifth in the Pac-12 this season, and over her five seasons with the Ducks has developed into one of the best players in program history, with a career slash line of .369/.407/.574 while ranking in the top five in Oregon history in hits, doubles, runs, and RBIs. Morris, a transfer after four years at Duke, has contributed a .316 batting average across 41 plate appearances this season while giving the Ducks excellent outfield defense. Ornelas, who is in her second season with the Ducks after transferring from UCF, has hit .265 this season with a home run and 13 RBIs. Howard picked up her first career hit and home run this season and has hit .455/.500/.818 in 12 plate appearances.
Utah
Utah has been a surprise contender in the Pac-12 this season. After finishing right at .500 last year with a record of 27-27, they’ve already surpassed that total this year at 31-13, and have consistently shown that they belong as one of the top 25 teams in the country. The Utes come into this final series against the Ducks off the back of being swept at home by UCLA, the #2 team in the country who Oregon was able to get a game off of, but also recently swept Stanford, another top 10 team who beat the Ducks back in March.
The Utes are led by their stellar pitching staff, which is headlined by the dynamic duo of Mariah Lopez and Sydney Sandez, who rank 10th and 12th respectively on the Pac-12 ERA leaderboards. Lopez has been one of the best strikeout pitchers in the conference, with her 146 strikeouts being tied for third-best in the Pac-12. Overall on the season, she has posted a 2.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 131.1 innings, accumulating a record of 14-5. Sandez meanwhile, has a record of 12-5 this season with a 2.79 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 98 innings of her own. This tandem has thrown nearly 80% of the total innings for the Utes this season and has been a big part of the reason why Utah is in the position they are in right now.
While pitching has been the highlight for Utah this season, they’re no slouch on the offensive side of the ball either. While they are not a very powerful team, with their 30 total home runs ranking second to last in the Pac-12, they are driven by a contact and speed-oriented approach, getting runners on base and then moving them around with base hits and steals. Their .324 team batting average ranks third in the Pac-12, and they lead the conference in stolen bases with 89, 17 more than second-place Washington. One of the main proponents of this playstyle has been senior utility-player, Haley Denning. Denning leads the Pac-12 with 28 steals while only being caught six times. Once she gets on base with her .356 batting average, she is a threat to run at any time. Arguably the best player for the Utes this season has been second baseman, Aliya Belarde, whose .425 batting average this season ranks second in the Pac-12, trailing only UCLA’s Maya Brady. Additionally, Belarde has gone 15 for 15 stolen base attempts this season, the third most in the Pac-12.
Final Overview
Overall, I think this will be a tough series for the Ducks against a talented Utah team. While everyone wants to think that Oregon will be able to continue their now 13-game win streak this weekend, sending the seniors out with a bang, I could easily see the Utes snapping that streak this weekend at the Jane. Oregon will need to see big performances out of Hansen, Scott, and Breedlove this weekend to keep this Utah team off the basepaths, as once they reach base their speed is a serious threat. In the end, I think the pitching staff will do enough to allow bats like Bunker and McGowan to come through during the final home series of their careers, and the Ducks will win at least two out of three to send the seniors out on a high note.