Portland State is next on the schedule for the Oregon softball program. Easy to overlook, right?
The last time the Ducks (18-13 overall, 1-3 Pacific-10 Conference) were in the field they recorded a single-game school record 16 hits and earned their first conference victory of the season Sunday with a 9-2, beating of No. 6 Stanford. Portland State (23-11, 4-0 Pacific Coast Conference) has only one win against Oregon in the past 16 meetings.
That doesn’t count for much, according to Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen, who believes today’s game, scheduled for 4 p.m. at Howe Field, will be a close matchup decided by great pitching, solid defense and timely hitting.
“I’d love to see us come out and really attack like we did against Stanford because I think we could score a lot of runs,” Arendsen said. “We give Portland State great credit and a lot of respect. They are an excellent program.
“We prepare for them the same way we would for a Pac-10 (team). We don’t take anything for granted. We have great respect for Portland State. They play us tough every game.”
Senior leadership in the field won’t allow the Ducks to take the Vikings for granted either, said senior shortstop Breanne Sabol.
“We can’t take any teams lightly,” Sabol said. “We need to make sure we come out and play because if we don’t they will come out and beat us.”
Earlier this season freshman pitcher Melissa Rice picked up her fourth collegiate victory when teammate Sari-Jane Jenkins hit a game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Ducks defeated the Vikings 6-5.
Portland State, which scored two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, was led by freshman Jackie Heide. The right fielder was 4 for 4 at the plate with a solo home run, two doubles and four RBIs.
“We definitely have to change speeds on her; change up the speed, get them off balance a bit,” Rice said. “Just hitting spots mainly, that’s what hurt me … and not giving up too much plate, I think that’s what caught me up last time.”
Sabol sparked the offense against Stanford with a bases clearing three-run triple and she feels the offense, which lagged early during the conference season, is starting to come around.
“I think it is kind of contagious,” Sabol said, citing Friday and Saturday’s big hits as leading into Sunday’s game. “Someone got on and everyone just started hitting. I think it was a huge confidence booster for our team.”
Senior Oregon pitcher Amy Harris will continue to be held out of competition to help her return to full strength for next weekend’s conference games. Harris received a cortisone shot last week in an effort to relieve the tightness and pain which has plagued her pitching shoulder for most of the season.
Oregon hasn’t played a game against a team ranked outside of the top 10 since a doubleheader sweep of UAB on March 28. In conference this season, the Ducks are 1-3 with three additional conference games rained out. Oregon faces in-state rival No. 8 Oregon State Friday and Saturday in Corvallis.
Oregon travels to Portland State on May 3 at 3 p.m. for the final scheduled meeting between the two schools this season.

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