Softball Continues Non-Conference Play in Hawaii

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 5 ranked Oregon softball team continues its non-conference schedule this week with five games over three days at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational.

The Ducks meet host Hawaii on Thursday night, face Montana and UNLV on Friday and then close out the invitational against Montana and Hawaii on Saturday.

#5 OREGON DUCKS (9-0)
Team BA: .351 | Team ERA: 1.19 | Runs Scored: 58 | Runs Allowed: 17
Last Weekend: UO went 3-0 at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs
National Rankings: UO is No. 5 in the NFCA poll, No. 6 in the USA Softball poll
Notable: Oregon remains undefeated after two weeks of the 2017 season. Oregon has a pair of top-25 wins, taking down No. 24 Fresno State and No. 22 Kentucky. Oregon's pitching has been superb, as the team's 1.19 ERA ranks No. 16 in the NCAA. Maggie Balint is averaging 11.5 strikeouts per seven innings, the best in the Pac-12 and No. 17 in the nation. Megan Kleist's 0.30 ERA is second in the Pac-12 and No. 17 in the NCAA.

HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (4-3)
Team BA: .298 | Team ERA: 2.48 | Runs Scored: 24 | Runs Allowed: 19
Last Weekend: Went 2-2 at the UNLV DeMarini Desert Classic
All-Time Series: Oregon leads, 14-8 and the Ducks have won 10 straight vs. UH
Notable: Hawai'i went 2-2 last weekend at the UNLV DeMarini Desert Classic, with wins over San Jose State and Idaho State. The Rainbow Wahine played No. 25 BYU tough, falling 7-5. Danielle Garcielita is hitting a team-best .478. No player has more than one home run and Hawaii has hit five this season. Brittany Hitchcock leads the team in the circle with a 1.58 ERA in 31.0 inning. She has 28 strikeouts compared to just seven walks.

MONTANA GRIZZLIES (4-5)
Team BA: .280 | Team ERA: 4.06 | Runs Scored: 43 | Runs Allowed: 46
Last Weekend: Montana went 2-2 at the Santa Clara Bronco Classic
All-Time Series: Oregon and Montana have never met
Notable: The Griz are led at the plate by Bethany Olea, who is hitting .500 in nine games with seven runs scored and four doubles. Sydney Stites is hitting .267 but has a pair of homers and a team-high 12 RBIs. Montana has four pitchers and all have thrown between 8 and 16 innings. Michaela Hood has a 2.10 ERA in 13.1 innings with 15 strikeouts and 11 walks. Sara Stephenson has issued 12 walks in a team-high 15.2 innings.

UNLV REBELS (7-2)
Team BA: .300 | Team ERA: 2.48 | Runs Scored: 48 | Runs Allowed: 37
Last Weekend: Went 4-0 at its DeMarini Desert Classic
All-Time Series: Oregon leads, 14-11, with six straight wins
Notable: UNLV defeated Northern Iowa, Weber State, UTEP and Idaho State at it's DeMarini Desert Classic last weekend. This will be the first games UNLV has played away from home after hosting back-to-back tournament to open the season. Senior SS Brianna Gatlin is hitting a team-high .407 with two doubles and two triples. UNLV has hit only three homers this season. Morgan Ettinger has a 1.14 ERA in 30.2 innings pitched.

BANK OF HAWAII INVITATIONAL
- Hawaii will offer live stats for every game this weekend at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational.
- The Ducks last played in Hawaii in 2014, falling in the championship game of the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic, 3-0, to James Madison. Alyssa Gillespie was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player while Cheridan Hawkins was the Co-Most Valuable Pitcher.

LAST WEEKEND
Oregon went 3-0 at the Mary Nutter Classic with two games being rained out.
- The Ducks opened up the weekend with a thrilling comeback win over No. 22 Kentucky. It was tied, 1-1, until Kentucky scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Ducks matched the Wildcats with three runs in the top of the sixth before SS Nikki Udria belted a solo homer in the seventh to give the Ducks a 5-4 win.
- After beating Kentucky, Oregon narrowly edged out Kent State, 4-3. Kent State scored three runs in the third to take a 3-2 lead but the Ducks scored twice in the fourth and held on for the win. Maggie Balint struck out the side in the seventh for a save.
- The Ducks exploded for 11 runs in an 11-0, five inning run-rule win over Illinois in the final game of the Mary Nutter Classic. Both 2B Lauren Lindvall and 1B Mia Camuso drove in three runs. Megan Kleist tossed five shutout inning with four strikeouts and no walks.

LINDVALL PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior second baseman Lauren Lindvall was named Pac-12 player of the week on Tuesday, the league announced. Lindvall went 5-for-5 at the Mary Nutter Classic with six RBIs. She homered and drove in three runs in the Ducks' 11-0 win over Illinois. She also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. So far this season, Lindvall is hitting .412, which ranks fourth on the team. Her eight RBIs are tied for second on the roster.

STAT RANKINGS
- Oregon is one of 14 undefeated teams in the NCAA.
- The Ducks rank 12th in the NCAA and third in the Pac-12 with a .452 on-base percentage.
- Oregon is 21st in the nation and fifth in the Pac-12, batting .351 so far this year.
- In the circle, the Ducks have a 1.19 team ERA, good for 16th in the NCAA and fourth in the Pac-12.
- Oregon has struggled defensively, as its .947 field percentage is No. 195 in the NCAA.

OREGON IN THE POLLS
The Ducks finished the 2016 regular season ranked No. 4 in both polls, but after falling to UCLA in Super Regionals, the Ducks ended the year ranked No. 10 by the NFCA and No. 11 by USA Softball. They were No. 9 in both polls to start the season. Oregon jumped up to No. 5 this week in the NFCA poll and No. 6 in the USA Softball poll.

TOP-25 STREAK
Oregon softball has been ranked in the top-25 of the NFCA poll for 106 straight weeks (preseason and postseason polls included). The Ducks climbed to No. 23 in week 10 of the 2010 season and have never dipped below that mark since.