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.