If Wednesday night’s doubleheader split with the unranked Portland State Vikings is any indication of what’s in store for the No. 19 Oregon women’s softball team as they host No. 4 Arizona this weekend, the Ducks could find themselves on the verge of dropping their third straight conference series.
After being swept for the first time all season at then-No. 5 UCLA last weekend, Oregon had a chance to fine-tune some things this week against PSU. But instead of working out the kinks and getting ready to make push into a hopeful playoff run, Oregon may have taken a step backward Wednesday night.
“We just didn’t play as well as we could have, but we know we should have,” Oregon
freshman pitcher Jessica Moore said. “We’ve just got to rebound from it and do better the next time we come out.”
Moore (13-9) has had back-to-back impressive outings for the Ducks, striking out a career-high 14 batters in the second game against the Vikings, putting her just two strikeouts away from breaking the single-season school record (203).
But no matter how many hitters Moore sits down on her on own, it’s recording the outs in between strikeouts that has plagued the Ducks recently. Oregon is the worst-ranked fielding team in the Pacific-10 Conference with a .959 fielding percentage, to go along with 53 errors and 31 passed balls this season.
The Ducks made several uncharacteristic shifts in the infield on Wednesday with sophomore Lindsey Chambers getting reps at shortstop in place of her injured twin sister Kelsey Chambers, who suffered a possible concussion early in that game. Senior Carlyn Re also saw some rare action at first base, while junior Monique Fuiava played a few innings at third base.
“I think she’s getting a little frustrated that she’s getting some ground balls that probably could be outs,” Oregon head coach Mike White said of Moore. “And we’re not making the plays, but you know, that’s gonna happen.”
Oregon (32-14, 7-8 Pac-10) cannot afford to let the mistakes build up against the highest scoring team in the nation this weekend. The Wildcats’ 7.75 runs per game is the top mark in the country, while their team batting average (.333), home runs per game (1.79), and
slugging percentage (.591) all rank fourth-best in the country.
Wildcat freshman Brigette Del Ponte leads the nation with 1.41 RBI per game this season and is one of four Arizona players to tally double-digit home runs on the year. Del Ponte (19), Stacie Chambers (15), Brittany Lastrapes (14), and Lini Koria (13) have each found a knack for hitting the long ball. Arizona’s 86 total home runs, also the fourth best mark in the country, is tops in the Pac-10 beating out second place UCLA by 18.
Before getting shut out 8-0 in the final game at California last weekend, the Wildcats had won eight straight outings with back-to-back series sweeps over Stanford and Oregon State.
“They’re one of the top run-producing teams in the nation so we’re really going to have to pick stuff up and play as best we can.” Moore continued.
Arizona took the season series 2-1 last year, and in order for Oregon to come away from this series with at least one win, getting on the board early and often will be pivotal. White
particularly expects more from the heart of his lineup, saying his 3-4-5 hitters haven’t been “doing their job” recently, leaving too many runners on base in crucial situations.
“We need to score some more runs, especially early on,” White said. “We had opportunities and we didn’t score. We left a lot of people on base, especially with the right people up and didn’t get it done.”
Oregon is sure to see a heavy dosage of freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler, who’s gone 29-5 in her first 36 collegiate appearances. Her 29 victories is the sixth best mark in the nation, tying her with South Carolina Upstate’s Morgan Childers despite throwing more than 34 fewer innings.
The five Duck seniors — Re, Hannah Barril, Neena Bryant, Shelley Deadmond, and Blair Williamson — will celebrate their final home series at Howe Field during Senior Day on
Sunday afternoon. Game times are set for 6 p.m. tonight, 1 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
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