It turns out 34 wins and the stellar reputation of Pacific-10 Conference softball were enough for Oregon to qualify for
the postseason.
The Ducks (34-23 overall, 7-14 Pac-10) received a berth in the NCAA regional softball playoffs and a first-round matchup with Louisiana Lafayette (50-8, 19-1 Sun Belt Conference) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Norman, Okla.
If the Ducks beat the Ragin’ Cajuns, they will face the winner of the matchup between Wichita State (46-16) and 14th seeded Oklahoma (47-15) on Saturday at 1 p.m. If Oregon is defeated, the Ducks will face the loser of the Shockers, Sooners game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Oregon concluded its regular season by splitting a pair of road games with No. 22 Washington (31-20, 10-11) during the weekend. The Huskies defeated the Ducks 7-1 on Saturday, marking Oregon’s first loss in Seattle in five games during head coach Kathy Arendsen’s tenure.
Washington jumped out to an early lead on an RBI single from center fielder Aimee Minor and a solo home run by right fielder Lauren Greer, which gave the Huskies a 2-0 advantage in the second inning.
Oregon loaded the bases with one out in the third inning but managed only one run on an RBI single by senior catcher Ashley Richards, which cut the Washington lead in half. The Huskies quickly got the run back, however, on a solo home run by Minor in the bottom of the inning.
Washington added another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
Oregon starting pitcher Amy Harris
(17-14) took the loss, allowing two earned runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Alicia Cook and Lindsey Kontra experienced control problems in relief, walking a combined six batters in 4 2/3 innings.
“We had opportunities to score and put runners on, but we didn’t get it done,” Arendsen said. “But I thought we had a good weekend overall and I’m pleased with the way we finished the regular season.”
One day earlier, Oregon used the right arm of Harris and the bat of shortstop Breanne Sabol to edge Washington 3-0.
Harris struck out eight and allowed five hits during her complete-game shutout. The win came one day after Harris shut out No. 12 UCLA.
Washington starter Caitlin Noble (14-8) was equally brilliant, however, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. After walks to Oregon third baseman Beth Boskovich and Richards, Noble gave up a three-run home run to Sabol — her first of the season — as the Ducks pulled out the late-inning win.
“We battled all day,” Arendsen said after the game. “We didn’t strike out all that much and we kept making contact so I knew we’d come around. The important thing is to play and battle for seven innings and we did that today.”

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