It’s more of the same this weekend for the Oregon softball team.
Three more games against two Pacific-10 Conference foes will give the Ducks an opportunity to regain their identity and some confidence. But, as usual in the Pac-10, nothing will come easy.
Heading into today’s 2 p.m. matchup with No. 13 Washington, Oregon (25-26 overall, 1-7 Pac-10) has dropped nine of its last 12 and sits at the bottom of the conference standings.
But the team has not lost hope.
After not practicing the first three days of this week, the Ducks met Thursday to discuss the team’s objectives for the remainder of the season.
Head coach Rick Gamez said the team needed a break to get back into mental shape.
The Ducks will need all the mental help they can get with freshman pitcher Tia Bollinger leading the Husky charge. Bollinger comes to Eugene with a 0.98 earned run average and a conference-best 24 wins and 186.1 innings pitched. She is also third in the Pac-10 with 175 strikeouts.
“Bollinger has done a great job for them,” Gamez said. “She has a nice change-up and knows how to throw a hitter off-balance.”
The Huskies (27-16, 3-5), losers of four straight, have a 23-7 all-time series advantage over the Ducks.
On Sunday, UCLA (42-3, 5-3) comes to town looking to retain the nation’s best record and its No. 1 ranking.
The Bruins are led by Natasha Watley, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Player of the Week. Watley leads the Pac-10 with 36 steals and has a 24-game hitting streak.In the circle, UCLA boasts two of the better pitchers in the conference in freshman Keira Goerl and junior Amanda Freed. Goerl is a 16-game winner, while Freed is 17-3 with a 0.51 ERA. Freed is also hitting .323.
In a showdown last Friday, the Huskies and Bruins met in L.A. in a 14-inning dual, the longest in both teams’ history. UCLA first baseman Claire Sua won the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 14th, giving the Bruins a 5-4 victory. Sua is third in the Pac-10 with a .428 batting average. The Bruins are hitting .353 as a team.
Bollinger and Goerl both pitched all 14 innings.
The Ducks face off against the Bruins at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Howe Field. The Bruins are 45-7 all-time against Oregon.