Coming off its first three-game sweep in five years over then-No. 15 California last weekend, it looked as though nothing could stand in the way of the No. 17 Oregon Duck softball team. Well, except maybe the top-ranked program in the nation, the Washington Huskies, who will be visiting Howe Field for another three-game series this weekend.
While the Ducks’ (29-6, 5-1 Pac-10) trio of wins over Cal last weekend was a monumental victory for the program’s recent history, matching up with the Huskies (33-3, 5-1 Pac-10) brings on a whole different animal.
“They’re going to be very difficult, there’s no doubt about it,” first-year Oregon head coach Mike White said. “They’re hot, they believe in their pitcher, but you know, what I think we’ve got to do is hopefully hold them down and score some runs — put pressure on their defense for a change.”
Scoring runs was a mere pipe dream for Arizona last weekend when Washington held the Wildcats to just four runs over 21 innings. Senior pitcher Danielle Lawrie improved her record to 23-1 on the year with an astounding 39 strikeouts during the series, solidifying her position as the Pacific-10 Conference’s pitcher of the week for the second straight week. Lawrie is now tied for the all-time conference record with 14 weekly honors.
Lawrie has tallied 262 of Washington’s 281 strikeouts this season, putting her at 1,627 fanned batters for her career. She is just the eighth pitcher in NCAA history to surpass the 1,600 strikeout mark, and she is only 13 behind former Cal great Michelle Granger for third
all-time in Pac-10 history.
Her performance against the top-ranked offensive team in the nation last weekend also earned her USA Softball National Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. It was Lawrie’s third National Player of the Week bid for her esteemed career.
On the other hand, Oregon junior Monique Fuiava received her first career Pac-10 player of the week accolade after leading the Ducks with two game-winning RBI against Cal. Fuiava leads the team with eight game-winning RBI this season.
Despite the Huskies’ record and reputation, Fuiava feels the series sweep over Cal could be enough to keep Oregon rolling.
“It gives us a lot more confidence.” Fuiava said. “A lot of people are really scared of the Huskies, but it’s just a softball team.”
Oregon has won 16 of its last 18 games, but if the team wants to hang with Lawrie and the Huskies, offense is going to be the key. The Ducks still lead the conference in hitting with a .338 team batting average and boast two hitters in the top-five individually.
Freshman Samantha Pappas sits atop the league with a .477 average and is tied for fifth with 11 home runs on the year. Pappas leads Oregon in almost every noteworthy offensive category, and though she may be viewed as a traditional power hitter, she also ranks first on the team with eight stolen bases.
Fellow freshman Allie Burger ranks fifth in the Pac-10 and second on the team with her .433 average. The speedy Spokane, Wash., native is also the only Oregon player to tally multiple triples this year (2).
“Obviously when they’re striking out 12 and 14 hitters against Arizona, there’s not much pressure on their defense.” White said. “So we’ve got to find a way to eliminate the strikeouts and put some pressure on their defense.”
Getting runners on base and shaking Lawrie out of her comfort zone will be important in slowing Washington down. Offensively, the Huskies match up favorably with the Oregon’s top-ranked pitching staff in the conference. Junior shortstop Jenn Salling, who played for Oregon as a freshman during the 2007 season, ranks fifth in the conference with 41 runs scored.
But facing an Oregon squad with a 1.50 team ERA that’s given up just 51 earned runs this season could put both teams in a pitchers duel, something Oregon can’t afford to let happen.
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