After six consecutive weekends on the road, Oregon’s softball team is finally playing on its home field.
The Ducks take on Portland State in a doubleheader at Howe Field beginning at 1 p.m. today.
“We are so ready to play at home,” head coach Kathy Arendsen said.
No. 22 Oregon (16-6) is coming off its last weekend of tournament play. The Ducks went 4-1 over the weekend, with their only loss against defending national champions California in the tournament’s title game.
The Ducks have been on the road the past six weekends, playing tournaments in California, Florida and Texas. They also had a tournament scheduled in Utah that was canceled because of weather after the team had arrived.
Of the five tournaments Oregon has played in, the team won three tournament titles and finished second in another.
“We’ve played well,” Arendsen said. “They have worked hard and competed hard.”
Portland State (4-10) has played in three preseason tournaments. The Vikings finished the first two tournaments with a 1-4 record in each, and split the four games during their third tournament.
“Portland State always plays Oregon tough,” Arendsen said. “I expect a battle.”
Arendsen commented on Viking coach Teri Mariani, saying she’s a staple in collegiate softball.
“She’s been their coach since I was playing in college,” Arendsen said.
Mariani is in her 27th year as head coach at Portland State.
One of Oregon’s keys to success this season is its pitching. Freshman Amy Harris, sophomore Lindsey Kontra, junior Anissa Meashintubby and senior Andrea Vidlund are each contributing a characteristic of their pitching to the team’s success.
Harris, in her first season, is already only 43 strikeouts away from breaking into Oregon’s all-time top 10 for strikeouts. The Eugene native has 70 this season, leading the Ducks and putting
her at sixth all-time for single-season strikeouts.
Kontra had a 6-0 record at the end of the preseason tournaments. She was named to the all-tournament team in Oregon’s second-place finish at the National Invitational Softball Tournament on Sunday.
Meashintubby is the shutout leader in the Ducks’ arsenal. She is currently tied for seventh all-time at Oregon. The junior also needs only five wins to break into the top 10 career victories list.
Vidlund is the experienced senior of the pitching squad. She is eighth all-time at Oregon with 262 career innings pitched. She is also tied for eighth all-time with six career shutouts and is tied for 10th all-time with 22 complete games.
Each of Oregon’s four pitchers brings a different strength and a different level of collegiate experience to the squad, combining to help the others become better as well as helping the team win.
After the Portland State doubleheader, the Ducks open Pacific-10 Conference play Saturday in Corvallis. Oregon will face No. 17 Oregon State at 2 p.m.
Oregon State is 19-9 this season and ranked No. 17 in both national polls. Oregon is the only Pac-10 team ranked below the Beavers in either poll.
Once the Ducks begin the game in Corvallis, they will step into the heart of the Pac-10 season. All eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Arizona. No. 7 California is the defending national champion, and No. 5 Washington rounds out the Pac-10 teams appearing in the top 10.
Oregon’s next home game is April 11 against Washington.