Photo by: GoDucks.com
No. 1 Seed UO Hosts Regionals Thursday
05/13/18 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
Molded by a daunting regular-season schedule that included 10 of the other 15 national seeds, Oregon earned the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, and will host regional play beginning Thursday.
Sixteen teams will host NCAA Softball Tournament regionals later this week, including the Pac-12 champions from Oregon.
Of the other 15 hosts, four are conference brethren of the Ducks. And Oregon faced six of the 11 postseason hosts from outside the Pac-12 — Georgia, Texas A&M, Louisiana State, Florida State, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
UO coach Mike White scheduled that murderer's row of nonconference foes with the intention of having his Ducks battle-tested come postseason play. By negotiating the regular-season schedule with a 44-7 record, Oregon finished with the No. 1 RPI in all of NCAA softball, and was rewarded Sunday with the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously it doesn't really matter; you've got to take care of business regardless of your seeding," senior catcher Gwen Svekis said Sunday following the Ducks' selection show watch party at Jane Sanders Stadium. "But it's exciting to get the recognition of that hard work we've put in this year. So we're happy about that."
The Pac-12 champion Ducks will host NCAA Regionals for the ninth time in White's nine seasons as head coach. Play in the Eugene Regional opens Thursday at The Jane when No. 2 seed and Missouri Valley Conference champ Drake (43-10) hosts No. 3 seed and West Coast Conference champ BYU (35-20) at 3 p.m., followed by the host Ducks against No. 4 seed and America East champs UAlbany (32-14) at 5:30 p.m.
The winners will meet Friday at 3 p.m., while the losers will face an elimination game Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Oregon is the No. 1 overall seed for the second time in five years. Though both RPI No. 2 UCLA (48-3) and No. 3 Oklahoma (47-3) each had fewer losses, the Ducks were rewarded by the selection committee for the tough schedule they faced, as was overall tournament No. 2 seed Florida (47-8), which was No. 4 in the RPI.
"Playing a really tough preseason was really important coming into conference play," said UO junior Megan Kleist, the Pac-12 pitcher of the year. "The Pac is as strong as it's been since I've been here, and I definitely think that helped us prepare for the postseason."
The Ducks are looking to reach the Women's College World Series for the fifth time in seven years, after making the semifinals last spring. If seeds hold through regional play this week, Oregon would host Kentucky for the second year in a row for Super Regionals.
But despite Oregon's 24-0 record in regional play under White, the UO coach isn't taking anything for granted.
"I always tell the ladies, the game doesn't know, and it doesn't," White said. "It's going to reward the team that plays the best, and that's what we've got to focus on."
The Ducks assembled for their watch party Sunday less than 24 hours after returning from Eugene following their final regular-season series, at California. Oregon swept the Golden Bears in a three-game series, clinching sole possession of the Pac-12 title with Saturday's 2-0 win.
A year earlier, the Ducks saw a four-year streak of conference crowns end when a rainout that wasn't made up contributed to a second-place finish by a half-game. Entering the series at Cal, Oregon was tied for first place with UCLA, but the Bruins dropped a game to Arizona State and the Ducks were able to celebrate regaining the title — without having to share it.
The celebration was boisterous, to be sure. But, Svekis said, it wasn't as jubilant as it might have been had the Ducks been able to share it with a passionate home crowd at The Jane. And their focus moved on quickly to this week.
"It's awesome that we got back on top and we won it," Svekis said. "But at the end of the day, it's not our ultimate goal; it's just one of our goals along the way. Now it's go time. This is the fun time of year."
A year after Oregon saw its season end just two wins short of the three-game national championship series in OKC, the Ducks' pitching staff is a year older, its offense is producing more power thanks to Svekis and senior transfer DJ Sanders, and the improved defense is led by the vacuum presence of Jenna Lilley at third base.
Those improvements came about in part due to the tough 2018 schedule that helped mold these Ducks. And they were rewarded for it Sunday, with the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA Tournament.
"The grit that our team showed, it showed some resilience and some bounce," White said. "We were down a couple times, and we bounced right back. And now that's done. Now, it's on to the next stage. We gotta take care of business, and it starts on Thursday."
Of the other 15 hosts, four are conference brethren of the Ducks. And Oregon faced six of the 11 postseason hosts from outside the Pac-12 — Georgia, Texas A&M, Louisiana State, Florida State, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
UO coach Mike White scheduled that murderer's row of nonconference foes with the intention of having his Ducks battle-tested come postseason play. By negotiating the regular-season schedule with a 44-7 record, Oregon finished with the No. 1 RPI in all of NCAA softball, and was rewarded Sunday with the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously it doesn't really matter; you've got to take care of business regardless of your seeding," senior catcher Gwen Svekis said Sunday following the Ducks' selection show watch party at Jane Sanders Stadium. "But it's exciting to get the recognition of that hard work we've put in this year. So we're happy about that."
The Pac-12 champion Ducks will host NCAA Regionals for the ninth time in White's nine seasons as head coach. Play in the Eugene Regional opens Thursday at The Jane when No. 2 seed and Missouri Valley Conference champ Drake (43-10) hosts No. 3 seed and West Coast Conference champ BYU (35-20) at 3 p.m., followed by the host Ducks against No. 4 seed and America East champs UAlbany (32-14) at 5:30 p.m.
The winners will meet Friday at 3 p.m., while the losers will face an elimination game Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Oregon is the No. 1 overall seed for the second time in five years. Though both RPI No. 2 UCLA (48-3) and No. 3 Oklahoma (47-3) each had fewer losses, the Ducks were rewarded by the selection committee for the tough schedule they faced, as was overall tournament No. 2 seed Florida (47-8), which was No. 4 in the RPI.
"Playing a really tough preseason was really important coming into conference play," said UO junior Megan Kleist, the Pac-12 pitcher of the year. "The Pac is as strong as it's been since I've been here, and I definitely think that helped us prepare for the postseason."
The Ducks are looking to reach the Women's College World Series for the fifth time in seven years, after making the semifinals last spring. If seeds hold through regional play this week, Oregon would host Kentucky for the second year in a row for Super Regionals.
But despite Oregon's 24-0 record in regional play under White, the UO coach isn't taking anything for granted.
"I always tell the ladies, the game doesn't know, and it doesn't," White said. "It's going to reward the team that plays the best, and that's what we've got to focus on."
The Ducks assembled for their watch party Sunday less than 24 hours after returning from Eugene following their final regular-season series, at California. Oregon swept the Golden Bears in a three-game series, clinching sole possession of the Pac-12 title with Saturday's 2-0 win.
A year earlier, the Ducks saw a four-year streak of conference crowns end when a rainout that wasn't made up contributed to a second-place finish by a half-game. Entering the series at Cal, Oregon was tied for first place with UCLA, but the Bruins dropped a game to Arizona State and the Ducks were able to celebrate regaining the title — without having to share it.
The celebration was boisterous, to be sure. But, Svekis said, it wasn't as jubilant as it might have been had the Ducks been able to share it with a passionate home crowd at The Jane. And their focus moved on quickly to this week.
"It's awesome that we got back on top and we won it," Svekis said. "But at the end of the day, it's not our ultimate goal; it's just one of our goals along the way. Now it's go time. This is the fun time of year."
A year after Oregon saw its season end just two wins short of the three-game national championship series in OKC, the Ducks' pitching staff is a year older, its offense is producing more power thanks to Svekis and senior transfer DJ Sanders, and the improved defense is led by the vacuum presence of Jenna Lilley at third base.
Those improvements came about in part due to the tough 2018 schedule that helped mold these Ducks. And they were rewarded for it Sunday, with the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA Tournament.
"The grit that our team showed, it showed some resilience and some bounce," White said. "We were down a couple times, and we bounced right back. And now that's done. Now, it's on to the next stage. We gotta take care of business, and it starts on Thursday."
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