Written By Levi Bergthold
#17 Oregon Softball (24-11) will try to snap a 6-game losing streak against #25 Arizona (21-14) this weekend. Oregon is in the middle of their toughest stretch of the season, as Arizona is their 3rd straight opponent who appeared in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, with 18 of 19 games against currently ranked teams. Oregon has not fared well so far during this stretch, being consecutively swept by #5 UCLA and #13 Arizona State. Arizona Softball has won 2 of their last 10 games, all against conference opponents.
This series is an important point in the season for the Ducks, as they currently sit 6th in the Pac-12 standings. After the most recent loss, senior Infielder Allee Bunker spoke on the team’s attitude going forward: “You’ve got to decide where you’re going to go from here, and we’ve made a decision as team that we need to make a change going into next weekend in order to get what we want. We understood going into this that it was going to be tough.”
Despite facing the nation’s 6th toughest schedule, Oregon’s offense has had some bright spots, as they are stealing 1.83 bases per game (2nd in the PAC-12, 25th nationally) and scoring 6.57 runs per game (4th in the PAC-12, 14th nationally). However, they are struggling on both sides of the long ball, having hit only 6 home runs, and given up 18 in their last 3 series. The Duck’s season has been defined by late inning and late game scoring, as 99 of their 230 season runs scored have been scored with 2 outs. The Ducks have outscored their opponents from the 5th inning on by a margin of 101 to 54.
Potential Starting Pitchers
Oregon: #00 Fr. RHP Stevie Hansen, #15 Jr. RHP Makenna Kliethermes
Oregon continues to feel the absence of injured ace Brooke Yanez. Freshman Pitcher Stevie Hansen has been pushed to a starting role, and has shined throughout the year, but battled inconsistency. The top-10 prospect has a season ERA of 2.81 and pitched 3.2 hitless innings against in the game 2 loss to Arizona State. She started again in the third game against ASU and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings before giving up a grand slam. Overall, her performance has been a surprising bright spot for the Ducks.
The veteran starter Makenna Kliethermes has also had her bright spots throughout the year but struggled in her starting effort in the 1st game of the ASU series. She gave up 5 earned runs with two homeruns during her 1.0 innings of pitching, but bounced back two days later, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 earned run.
Lefty Senior Jordan Dail and closer Raegan Breedlove fill out the bullpen.
Arizona: #7 Sr. RHP Hanah Bowen, #19 FR RHP Madi Elish
Arizona’s pitching staff performed well in their most recent series against Oregon State, giving up a combined 8 runs over three games. Senior pitcher Hanah Bowen started two of those games, going the distance in both, allowing a combined 7 hits and 5 earned runs. This is the first year of Bowen’s career where she hasn’t played on both sides of the field, having spent 3 years also playing the infield in addition to her pitching.
Freshman Madi Elish started the 2nd game of the OSU series, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, with 2 strikeouts and a walk. Her hot start to the year has cooled off some, with her season ERA having risen to 4.01. Her sister, Miranda Elish, pitched for the Oregon Ducks Softball team in 2018, earning 2nd team All-American and 1st team All-PAC-12 honors for her standout season.
Sophomore’s Jessie Fontes and Devyn Netz round out the pitching staff for the Wildcats. Netz has rotated in and out of the starting lineup as well.
Projected Lineup – Oregon Ducks
- #24 So. CF Hanna Delgado
- #51 Sr. 2B Allee Bunker
- #20 Sr. 3B Rachel Cid
- #11 Jr. DP Terra McGowan
- #3 Jr. RF Ariel Carlson
- #13 So. 1B KK Humphreys
- #5 Jr. LF Jasmine Williams
- #99 Jr. C Vallery Wong
- #5 Jr. SS Paige Sinicki
Projected Lineup – Arizona Wildcats
- #21 LF Jasmine Perezchica
- #18 C Sharlize Palacios
- #9 2B Allie Skaggs
- #15 3B Izzy Pacho
- #20 1B Carlie Scupin
- #12 DP Bailey Thompson
- #30 RF Blaise Biringer
- #00 SS Sophia Carroll
- #55 CF Giulia Koutsoyanopulos
Oregon’s Keys to Success:
- Get leadoff batters on base, and score early in the game
- Hit and defend home runs
- Find consistent pitching
Final thoughts
Oregon’s 6 game losing streak has eliminated any margin for error. If the Ducks want to make postseason noise, they need to find a way back in the win column against the Wildcats. They can’t rely on late inning or late game heroics but need to attack early and create an early lead. This series is as close to a “must win” as possible at this point in the season.
Prediction:
Oregon wins 2 out of 3 games.