After a non-conference schedule plagued with rained-out games and early disappointments, the surging Oregon softball team starts Pacific-10 Conference play at 3 p.m. today against 17th-ranked Washington at Howe Field.
Oregon will then host defending national champion UCLA at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Ducks (20-9 overall), who have won seven games in a row and 11 of their last 12, hope to keep the momentum going versus their purple and gold rival to the north.
Senior second baseman Erin Goodell said the team’s recent roll should help, especially after losing to the Huskies 6-0 earlier this season at the Hawaii Paradise Classic.
“It gives us more confidence and lets us know that we can play with any team right now,” Goodell said. “When we lost to Washington earlier in the season, we hadn’t really found ourselves yet. We’ve found ourselves now and know where we are at.”
The Huskies (16-9) are coming off a loss to No. 21 Fresno State and are looking to start the Pac-10 season on a positive note. Washington is paced offensively by power-hitting senior catcher Kristen Rivera. The 2005 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year nominee is hitting .439 (4th in the conference) with a 1.035 slugging percentage (1st), a .644 on-base percentage (1st), and 10 home runs (tied for 1st). She also leads the conference in walks (31) and is fourth in RBIs (28).
Also hitting well for the Huskies is Ashley Charters, who is third in the conference in
hitting (.455). Washington also has two other players in the top seven in home runs, Aimee Minor (9) and Sarah Hyatt (8).
As a team, the Huskies lead the
conference in on-base percentage (.408) and are second in slugging percentage (.510) and home runs (35).
Trying to counteract the big Washington bats will be Oregon ace Amy Harris. The Eugene native boasts a 1.11 ERA to go along with her 10-4 record this season. She is eighth in the conference in opposing batting average, allowing hitters to bat a mere .173 against her.
The Ducks’ newcomers have led the team offensively in hitting. Freshmen Lovena Chaput and T.J. Eadus have been pacing the Oregon offense. Chaput, recently named the Pac-10’s Co-Player of the Week, went 6 for 13 in the past week and has solidified herself in the leadoff spot.
“It was a huge shock to be named one of the players of the week,” Chaput said. “But it also is a huge confidence booster. The experience in Pac-10 play is going to be a lot different, and I don’t have that (experience) like the sophomores, juniors and seniors.”
Eadus has been the Ducks’ most consistent hitter and leads the team with a .386 batting average. Head coach Kathy Arendsen slipped Eadus in the lineup wherever she could early on, but the freshman has recently been a mainstay at third base.
The Oregon offense has also been doing the little things right, as
they lead the conference in both sacrifice flies and sacrifice bunts. Shortstop Breanne Sabol leads the conference with 12 sacrifice bunts to go along with her .364 average. Sophomore center fielder Suzie Barnes is tied for second in the
conference with seven and Goodell is tied for sixth in the conference with six.
The Huskies will feature one of two pitchers against the Ducks
today. One is senior Ashley Boek, who is 10-5 on the season with
a 2.21 ERA and has 97 strikeouts
in 85.1 innings pitched. The only other Washington pitcher to take the mound this season has been overpowering freshman Caitlin
Noble. She is 6-4 on the season, but has struck out an impressive
131 batters in 76.2 innings of work.

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