Oregon softball will take a one-game lead in the Pac-12 championship hunt into the final weekend of the regular season at No. 17 Arizona.
Just below the Ducks sits No. 6 UCLA. Oregon will look to defend its back-to-back league titles beginning Thursday. UCLA will hit the road to visit ASU this weekend.
“I think it’s very exciting going in to the very end and UCLA is right behind us,” outfielder Janie Takeda said. “I think that’s what makes softball great.”
The Ducks are coming off a three-game sweep of California which catapulted them into the No. 1 ranking in the NFCA and ASA/USA Softball polls, which were announced Tuesday.
“We’re in to the stretch run,” head coach Mike White said before Tuesday’s practice. “It’s fun. This is a good position to be in right now… They’re going to be self-motivated. They’re the ones that want to win the championship. It’s just a matter of me managing the pieces.”
If Oregon and UCLA are both tied at the end of the regular season, co-champions are named. To win the title outright, the Ducks need to win one more game this weekend than UCLA, which travels to No. 24 ASU.
Last weekend, UCLA swept Arizona, including two run-rule wins. In the series finale, Arizona committed a season-high six errors, allowing UCLA to score 11 unearned runs.
Takeda said that the team is able to stay motivated to compete even in blowout games due to White’s competitiveness.
“He never doesn’t compete, no matter what is going on,” Takeda said. “Even if we have something clinched, or we’re up by nine runs, he’s still competing. I think when our leader is that much of a competitor, it really rubs off on the whole team.”
Arizona (37-15, 12-9 Pac-12) boasts a lethal offense, featuring some of the most prolific bats in the conference. Kellie Fox’s .403 batting average is best in the Pac-12 and Chelsea Goodacre leads the nation with 79 RBIs, including 22 home runs. Arizona’s 8.17 runs a game is fourth-best in the NCAA.
“I think (our play) is starting to get more and more consistent,” Takeda said. “That’s what we’re really focused on, consistency and continually showing up and playing Oregon softball.”
Oregon sits No. 2 in the nation in batting average, .370, while Arizona’s .364 is fourth-best. The Wildcats and Ducks are first and second in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.622 and .620, respectively).
Oregon’s Hailey Decker and Lauren Lindvall both received Pac-12 honors on Monday.
“We’ve said all along that we’ve had a deep team, a deep staff,” White said. “Probably the deepest we’ve ever had. I think it just illustrates that by the number of people that are stepping up… It’s like nightmare for me picking a lineup right now.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne