Friday, April 28
Eugene, Ore.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
vs
Oregon State
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Stretch Run Begins With Rivalry Weekend
04/27/17 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon hosts OSU this weekend, looking to stay in the hunt for the Pac-12 title and postseason hosting rights.
Forget that Oregon is itching to get back to its winning ways, after dropping three straight series.
All it will take is one look at the logo on the opposing jerseys at Jane Sanders Stadium this weekend, and Nikki Udria's adrenalin will be pumping.
The UO softball team hosts Oregon State for a three-game series beginning Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The Ducks have won 12 straight in the rivalry, and Udria doesn't want to drop one now.
"It's my senior year, my last Civil War, so the energy's high," Udria said Wednesday prior to Oregon's practice. "There's a lot at stake."
What's at stake goes beyond the rivalry. Oregon State (24-19, 6-9 Pac-12) is sensing the possibility for a postseason berth, after taking two of three from both Stanford and UCLA the last two weeks. Oregon (38-6, 11-6) is playing for much more, but with no less sense of urgency.
The Ducks are currently ranked No. 6 in the polls, and have the No. 7 RPI in the country. That puts them deep in the hunt for, but far from assured of, a top-eight seed into the postseason, and the chance to host both NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.
"Whether it's playing for your postseason life or playing for home-field advantage, there's a lot for both of us to play for," UO coach Mike White said. "And we still have an outside shot at the championship; you never know what's going to happen."
The four-time defending Pac-12 champion Ducks enter this weekend third in the conference standings. Oregon is 3.5 games behind Arizona after dropping two of three in Tucson last week, and 1.5 games behind second-place Utah, where the Ducks won twice a month ago.
Arizona will close out the regular season against UCLA after its rivalry series with ASU this week, and Utah plays its final regular-season series against Washington. The Huskies and Bruins are tied for fourth in the Pac-12 entering this weekend, and will have a major say in whether the Ducks can play themselves into contention.
Of course, Oregon wants to leave nothing to chance on its own. That means taking care of business against Oregon State and Stanford in the final two conference series of the season, both for the sake of the Pac-12 race and the opportunity to earn a top-eight postseason seed.
"Those seedings are really important," Udria said. "If we can have our crowd behind us, it makes a big difference."
The Ducks hope to feed off their home-field crowd this weekend, and to provide reasons to cheer. Oregon's pitching has been solid all season, and at Arizona the UO offense showed signs of clicking at the perfect time.
In the absence of power-hitting 2016 seniors Janelle Lindvall and Koral Costa, the Ducks have had to work harder to manufacture runs in 2017. But they hit three homers in Saturday's loss at Arizona — Oregon's season-high in Pac-12 play — then hit three more Sunday, including sixth-inning shots by Udria and Lauren Lindvall that gave the Ducks a come-from-behind victory.
"I was really impressed," Udria said. "It's really exciting when you feel like, throughout the whole lineup, we're putting a lot of pressure on the pitcher and pressure on the defense. … We were really hitting the ball hard. The first couple games might not have gone our way, but I think we were hitting the ball well, squaring balls up — they just weren't dropping for us. So I was really proud of the way we came out Sunday and turned things around."
Well-hit balls that result in outs tend to even out and fall in as hits as a season progresses.
"It's just a matter of stringing them all together and getting hot at the right time," White said.
With Oregon State coming to town this weekend, there's no time like the present for the Oregon softball team.
All it will take is one look at the logo on the opposing jerseys at Jane Sanders Stadium this weekend, and Nikki Udria's adrenalin will be pumping.
The UO softball team hosts Oregon State for a three-game series beginning Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The Ducks have won 12 straight in the rivalry, and Udria doesn't want to drop one now.
"It's my senior year, my last Civil War, so the energy's high," Udria said Wednesday prior to Oregon's practice. "There's a lot at stake."
What's at stake goes beyond the rivalry. Oregon State (24-19, 6-9 Pac-12) is sensing the possibility for a postseason berth, after taking two of three from both Stanford and UCLA the last two weeks. Oregon (38-6, 11-6) is playing for much more, but with no less sense of urgency.
The Ducks are currently ranked No. 6 in the polls, and have the No. 7 RPI in the country. That puts them deep in the hunt for, but far from assured of, a top-eight seed into the postseason, and the chance to host both NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.
"Whether it's playing for your postseason life or playing for home-field advantage, there's a lot for both of us to play for," UO coach Mike White said. "And we still have an outside shot at the championship; you never know what's going to happen."
The four-time defending Pac-12 champion Ducks enter this weekend third in the conference standings. Oregon is 3.5 games behind Arizona after dropping two of three in Tucson last week, and 1.5 games behind second-place Utah, where the Ducks won twice a month ago.
Arizona will close out the regular season against UCLA after its rivalry series with ASU this week, and Utah plays its final regular-season series against Washington. The Huskies and Bruins are tied for fourth in the Pac-12 entering this weekend, and will have a major say in whether the Ducks can play themselves into contention.
Of course, Oregon wants to leave nothing to chance on its own. That means taking care of business against Oregon State and Stanford in the final two conference series of the season, both for the sake of the Pac-12 race and the opportunity to earn a top-eight postseason seed.
"Those seedings are really important," Udria said. "If we can have our crowd behind us, it makes a big difference."
The Ducks hope to feed off their home-field crowd this weekend, and to provide reasons to cheer. Oregon's pitching has been solid all season, and at Arizona the UO offense showed signs of clicking at the perfect time.
In the absence of power-hitting 2016 seniors Janelle Lindvall and Koral Costa, the Ducks have had to work harder to manufacture runs in 2017. But they hit three homers in Saturday's loss at Arizona — Oregon's season-high in Pac-12 play — then hit three more Sunday, including sixth-inning shots by Udria and Lauren Lindvall that gave the Ducks a come-from-behind victory.
"I was really impressed," Udria said. "It's really exciting when you feel like, throughout the whole lineup, we're putting a lot of pressure on the pitcher and pressure on the defense. … We were really hitting the ball hard. The first couple games might not have gone our way, but I think we were hitting the ball well, squaring balls up — they just weren't dropping for us. So I was really proud of the way we came out Sunday and turned things around."
Well-hit balls that result in outs tend to even out and fall in as hits as a season progresses.
"It's just a matter of stringing them all together and getting hot at the right time," White said.
With Oregon State coming to town this weekend, there's no time like the present for the Oregon softball team.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
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/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
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