After an impressive start to the 2010 Pacific-10 Conference season the No. 21 Oregon women’s softball team will look to keep its strong play going as they host the No. 15 California Golden Bears in a three-game series this weekend at Howe Field.
In a conference chock full of top-25 talent, the Ducks (26-6, 2-1 Pac-10) boast the highest team batting average in the league at .346, which ranks them second nationally in the category after hitting .400 as a team last weekend.
“We’ve been getting ready for this weekend, that’s for sure.” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “We think that our first home challenge against Cal is going to be a big one.”
A large chunk of that team average can be attributed to the spectacular play of freshman right fielder Samantha Pappas. Leading the Ducks in at-bats (96), hits (48), doubles (8), home runs (9), and RBI (34), Pappas has clearly lain to rest the thought of hitting the freshman wall.
“I try to do the best I can every time,” Pappas said. “I don’t really worry about statistics very much. I just try to do the best I can.”
For someone who isn’t concerned with the numbers, she is putting up some of the top freshman marks in the country. Not to mention that her .500 batting average is leading the Pac-10, which also ranks her fifth nationally. But as Oregon gets ready to take on its toughest opponent of the season so far things could change a bit.
“She continues to get her one or two hits a game and continues to take what they give her,” White said of Pappas. “She’s coming up in clutch situations — she’s very tough when the pressure’s on.”
Cal (29-8, 1-2 Pac-10) has won eight of its last 10 outings but suffered two tough losses on the road to Stanford last weekend, the first of which was a 12-inning marathon resulting in a 1-0 win for the Cardinal.
The Golden Bears were able to bounce back for a 6-0 win in the third game and also added on another 6-0 victory over Sacramento State on Wednesday. The latter gave 23-year head coach Diane Ninemire her 1,000th career win, making her the ninth coach in the history of Division I softball to reach that mark.
Speedy sophomore Jamia Reid paces the Bears offensively with a Pac-10-leading 51 hits this season. Hitting .411 on the year, she is also tops in the conference in triples (5) and stolen bases (39).
If there’s one thing Oregon must look to stop against the fast-paced Cal squad, it’s cutting down on the stolen bases.
“They’re very fast,” Smith said. “They’ve stolen 100 bases, which is incredible. I think we’ve stolen 42 or 45, and we’re stealing quite a lot. So we’ve got to try and keep their 1-2 hitters off base. If we can do that then we’ll have a shot at them.”
Cal has successfully stolen 100 bases on 114 attempts this season (87 percent), while the Ducks have actually only taken 34 bases on 49 attempts (69 percent).
Oregon will see a pair of highly talented pitched in freshman Jolene Henderson (13-3) and junior Valerie Arioto (14-5). Henderson boasts a 0.94 ERA in her 20 appearances this season, while Arioto has struck out 189 batters she’s faced. They’ve also thrown 10 and 12 complete games, respectively.
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