By Jakob Salao

Eugene, ORE – Throughout April, Oregon Softball has dropped consecutive series against Pac-12 opponents. Coming into this series, the Ducks have lost the last 11 of 13 games they’ve played this month. Oregon State has seen similar struggles, though not to the same extent. The Beavers are coming off a seven-game losing streak. Both teams have struggled to score runs against opponents, and this series may be a chance for both teams to flip that around as the year heads to the end of the season. 

Oregon holds a slight advantage over Oregon State in the hitting department. Despite OSU posting the Pac-12’s highest number of at-bats, Oregon ranks higher in batting average, slugging %, hits, and RBIs. The Ducks batters had trouble scoring against Washington and may see better opportunities against the Beavers. 

Oregon also didn’t have Jasmine Williams for 2/3 games of the series, and LHP Jordan Dail didn’t appear with the team for that whole weekend. There’s no certainty whether either will make an appearance in this series against OSU. 

Potential Starting Pitchers:

Oregon: #00 Fr. RHP Stevie Hansen, #15 Jr. RHP Makenna Kliethermes

In nearly every Pac-12 series, Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi has turned to Freshman Stecview Hansen as the starting pitcher. Although she didn’t have her best performance against Washington, Hansen still boasts a 3.39 ERA in 95 innings pitched and has been making consecutive starts for the Ducks during Pac-12 play. She leads the team in SOs coming into the series at 106. 

If Hansen is having a rough game, Makenna Kliethermes is almost always ready to pitch a large number of innings as well. Though her 4.18 ERA is not as impressive as Hansen, Kliethermes has much more experience than the young freshman, which can be key in game-time situations. 

If the Ducks are without Jordan Dail for this series, Reagan Breedlove and Allison Benning will round out the Oregon pitching staff. 

Oregon State: #34 Sr. P Mariah Mazon, #30 Fr. P Sarah Haendiges

OSU’s Mariah Mazon has made the most starts for the beavers, and for good reason. Coming into the series, Mazon boasts a 1.62 ERA and .84 WHIP in 127 innings pitched. Mazon also has 160 SOs so far on the season. For an Oregon team that was struggling to hit against Washington, a pitcher of this caliber is a dangerous opponent for the Ducks. 

Along with Mazon, Freshman Sarah Haendiges has been showing signs of being a great pitcher for OSU for the next few years. In her 104 innings, Haendiges has a 1.90 ERA along with 116 SOs. Both of these pitchers combine into a dangerous duo for not just Oregon, but any team lining up against the Beavers. 

Oregon’s Keys to Success

• The batters need to get hits sooner, rather than later 
• Stay ahead in the pitching count 
• Exploit the comparatively lower OSU batting average 

Potential Starting Lineups 

Oregon:

1. #51 2B Allee Bunker
2. #24 CF Hanna Delgado
3. #11 C Terra McGowan
4. #20 3B Rachel Cid
5. #13 1B KK Humphreys
6. #3 RF Ariel Carlson
7. #9 DP Allison Benning
8. #22 LF Kai Luschar
9. #38 SS Paige Sinicki 

OSU: 

1. 2B Kiki Escovar 
2. CF Eliana Gottlieb
3. RF/PH Kaylah Nelsen 
4. 1B Frankie Hammoude 
5. 3B Grace Mesmer 
6. DP Des Rivera 
7. C Lici Campbell
8. LF/RF Erin Mendoza 
9. SS Savanah Whatley

Prediction

Oregon has consistently had trouble in the first games of series, and the Ducks’ batters have been on a significant cold streak recently. Unless they are able to turn those struggles around, OSU is going to be in a good position to win this game. OSU wins 2/3 games this series.