While the No. 12 Ducks (37-17 overall, 9-9 Pacific-10 Conference) hover one game below their conference win total from last season, they remain among the top 15 teams in the nation.
In the Pacific-10 Conference, five teams are currently ranked among the top 10, and Oregon has beaten all of them at least once.
The Ducks have been helped by consistency, although not often is one area consistent for the majority of the time.
During March, the Ducks were on an offensive kick — scoring five or more runs in eight games that month.
Oregon is currently in a slight offensive slump after being shutout — 5-0, 1-0 and 3-0 — in Arizona during the weekend.
When the Ducks do well offensively, catcher Jenn Poore and third baseman Ashley Richards lead the way. Poore leads the team with the .323 batting average while Richards leads the team with a .531 slugging percentage.
Recently, Oregon has recovered its inconsistent defense and solidified the infield with extra practice and a dose of confidence. Other than a five-error hiccup Sunday, the defense has gotten off the roller coaster it had been on earlier this season.
Another part of Oregon’s attack is the frequent use of reserves. While four players — Poore, Richards, designated player Beth Boskovich and shortstop Breanne Sabol — have started all 54 games, reserve players Julie Jaime and Ann Marie Topps have each played in a majority of Oregon’s games this season.
The most consistent facet of this season’s Oregon team has been the pitching. Oregon’s top pitcher — Ani Nyhus — recently became the fifth Duck to win 20 games in a season. The Ducks’ team earned run average is 1.71.

Career K’s
Three of Oregon’s four current pitchers have pitched their way into Oregon’s career top 10 list for strikeouts.
Senior Anissa Meashintubby has worked her way up to No. 5 on the list, with 82 strikeouts this season on top of her 228 last season.
Sophomore Amy Harris, who last season set Oregon’s single-season strikeouts record with 180, has added 84 strikeouts this season to put her at No. 6 on the list.
Nyhus has jumped onto the list during her first season as a Duck. She has struck out 172 batters this season, putting herself at No. 9 on the list.

Desert disasters
Looking at recent history, the state of Arizona has not been kind to the Ducks. In the past five seasons, Oregon is 2-13 at Arizona and Arizona State, with both wins against the Sun Devils. Since the Ducks’ last winning record in Arizona — they went 4-0 in 1989 — they are 10-45 in the desert, with all 10 wins against Arizona State.
This past weekend was the first time this season that the Ducks lost three consecutive games.

Regional revealing
The 64 teams selected for the NCAA Division I Softball Regionals will be announced in a selection show Sunday. The show will be shown on ESPNews, beginning at 5 p.m.
Oregon is eligible for five of the eight regional locations — at host schools Baylor, Michigan, Nebraska, Georgia and Florida State. Arizona, UCLA and Stanford will host their own regionals. Pac-10 schools are not eligible to participate in a regional at another Pac-10 site.
Ducks head coach Kathy Arendsen was unavailable by phone Tuesday.