The 11th-ranked Oregon softball team begins its pursuit of a Women’s College World Series berth this morning when it matches up with the University of Albany in the opening round of the University Park NCAA Regional in State College, Pa.@@http://www.oneclicksportsnow.com/ncaa/oregon-ducks/285569/Oregon-softball-Oregon-s-dream-catcher-comes-through/@@
Oregon (39-14) returns to regional action fresh off a monumental series win over defending national champion UCLA in Eugene last weekend, and drew the 13th seed for the 64-team tournament field.
“Well, we’re happy to be in the tournament, that’s for sure,” Oregon coach Mike White said following the selection show Sunday night. “We were hoping to be at home — that didn’t happen, I’m not quite sure of the reasons why — but we’re ranked 13th, which is great. I think our chances are pretty good.”
The Ducks are the highest-seeded team in their regional and will have to get past host Penn State (29-22-1), Albany (28-21) and Fordham (41-17) in order to advance to their second consecutive Super Regional appearance. Fortunately for Oregon, this year’s team brings plenty of momentum coming off four straight Pacific-10 Conference series wins, a much different conclusion to the regular season than 2010.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=245&SPSID=4374@@
For its efforts this year, Oregon was well represented on the All-Pac-10 teams that were announced Wednesday afternoon.
In total, eight different players were given all-league @@caps?@@recognition, with sophomore pitcher Jessica Moore leading the way with her first All-Pac-10 first team honor after being named a second team selection a year ago. She became just the third Duck pitcher to be selected to the first team, following Ani Nyhus (2004) and Katie Wiese (1989) as the only players to do so.
The Sutter, Calif., native was second in the Pac-10 with three saves this season, while her 1.66 ERA was the third-best mark among conference pitchers. Moore was also fifth in the league with 193 total strikeouts and tied for fifth with 21 wins on the year.
Senior first baseman Monique Fuiava was a second team selection, while freshman Courtney Ceo, sophomore Samantha Pappas and seniors Brittany Rumfelt and Kaitlin Vitek each earned honorable mention accolades.
Ceo, who led the Ducks in batting (.378), at-bats (164), runs (41), hits (62) and stolen bases (14), and catcher Alexa Peterson were also tabbed to the All-Pac-10 freshman team. Designated player Kailee Cuico was an honorable mention selection.
For the second year in a row under White, the Ducks will have to travel across the country for regional play, something his team expected to avoid after such a strong regular season.
“I feel like it’s disappointing because it’s hard on our players,” White said. “Having to miss school and travel and everything else. It is disappointing, but you know, it is what it is, and we’ll go out there and make the most of it.”
White also added that he knew little about the Ducks’ opening round opponent, Albany, but said Penn State is traditionally very strong, while Fordham pitcher Jen Mineau — a top 10 finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2010 — is among the nation’s elite in the circle.@@http://www.fordhamsports.com/sports/w-softbl/mtt/mineau_jen00.html@@
Albany, however, looks to be a favorable opening round game for Oregon. The Great Danes won their fourth America East Conference Championship last weekend to earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman pitcher and the conference tournament’s most outstanding player, Brittany MacFawn, will lead Albany into the postseason. The right-handed pitcher accumulated a 15-6 record in 33 appearances this season, posting a 2.14 ERA with 14 complete games and 140 strikeouts.@@http://www.ualbanysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&SPID=8002&DB_OEM_ID=15800&SPSID=70312&ATCLID=205111782@@
At the plate, senior Gina Mason batted a team-high .420 for the Great Danes on the year, and also paced Albany in hits (55), doubles (11), triples (tied-3), home runs (5), RBI (29) and total bases (87).
For Oregon, whose pitching has been superb throughout the season and hitting that has started to balance out throughout each part of the order, anything less than a regional victory would be viewed as disappointing.
“I think right now we’re a little more prepared, because we’re looking ahead,” Fuiava said. “Not necessarily ahead to the World Series, but we’re actually ready for what’s going to come. I think last year we were just happy to be where we were, and this year I think we’ve set our expectations a little bit higher.”
Today’s game is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, with the Fordham and Penn State matchup following immediately after at 5 p.m.