After three straight losses in their first Pacific-10 Conference games of the season, the Oregon softball team begins a three-game weekend set starting today.
The Ducks (18-12 overall, 0-3 Pac-10) will host No. 3 Stanford (30-5, 1-2) beginning at 2 p.m. at Howe Field and then will take on No. 6 California (35-11, 2-1) on Saturday and Sunday.
Coming off three losses to No. 14 Oregon State, the Ducks have been playing well but have yet to show that they can perform at the level of the rest of the conference. Every Pac-10 team other than Oregon is ranked in the top 25.
After Tuesday’s loss to Oregon State, where the Beavers’ Monica Hoffman threw a no-hitter against the Ducks, Oregon head coach Brent Rincon said he hoped his team will use the game as “a building block to get ready for the rest of the Pac-10.”
“We feel that we can represent the University well and compete, and we do expect to win in this conference,” Rincon said.
Over the Ducks’ last six games, dating back to a loss to Colorado State on March 24, they have won just two games and scored more than two runs in a game only once — with a 5-0 win over UNLV. Although the team’s hitting has struggled, the pitching rotation of Connie McMurren, Anissa Meashintubby and Lindsey Kontra has performed well.
“I’m encouraged beyond belief,” Rincon said. “Our pitching has just been outstanding. One error in three games (against Oregon State) and good pitching — that’s a great situation. We’ve just got to add to the equation timely hitting and execute offensively, then I think we are going to be in a good situation.”
Leading the way offensively for Oregon after its first 30 games is Andrea Vidlund with a .386 batting average, seven home runs and 31 RBI.
Saturday’s game begins at 2 p.m., while the Sunday contest starts at 1 p.m.