After posting a 14-2 record through three weeks of competition, the No. 13 Oregon women’s softball team is set to take on some of the nation’s top programs this weekend at the ESPN Rise Tournament, held at the ESPN Diamondplex in Orlando, Fla.
The Ducks will kick off the tournament with a pair of games Friday morning beginning with North Carolina (9-5) at 10 a.m., followed by a matchup with Virginia (9-5) at 12:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Oregon will see No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette (14-1) and top-ranked Alabama (16-0), which will be televised on ESPN3-TV at 9:30 a.m. EST.
Sunday’s slate features Illinois (5-5) and Illinois State (8-5), with the second game also being televised at 1 p.m. EST.
So far this season the Ducks have not lost to a top-25 team, having beaten then-No. 9 Hawaii, then-No. 16 BYU and then-No. 19 Texas A&M.
Sophomore pitcher Jessica Moore continues to shine as Oregon’s ace, compiling a 7-1 record in her 10 appearances this season. She leads the team in strikeouts (62), innings pitched (46 1/3), complete games (three) and ERA (0.91).
Offensively, junior Christie Nieto leads the team with a .448 batting average, while fellow junior Kelsey Chambers paces Oregon with six home runs and 14 RBI this season.
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