Notes: Ducks Open WCWS on Thursday

OKLAHOMA CITY - The No. 3 seed Oregon softball team opens play in the 2017 Women's College World Series on Thursday evening at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

#3 SEED OREGON DUCKS (52-6)
Team BA: .328 | Team ERA: 1.33 | Runs Scored: 385 | Runs Allowed: 92
Recently: Swept the Eugene Super Regional against No. 14 seed Kentucky
National Rankings: No. 3 in the NFCA poll, No. 1 in the USA Softball poll
Regular Season: Finished a half-game back of Arizona in the Pac-12 standings
Head Coach: Mike White (Eighth Season)
- Oregon has reached 50+ wins for the fifth time in program history - four have come under Mike White.
- The scrappy Ducks have scored 38 runs (7.6 per game) in the postseason without hitting a home run.
- Oregon enters the WCWS on a 15-game winning streak. UO has outscored its opponents 106-19 in that span.
- The Ducks rank fifth in the NCAA with a 1.33 ERA and eighth with a .328 batting average. Oregon is the only WCWS team that ranks in the top-10 of the NCAA in batting average.
- Oregon's three pitchers all rank in the top-5 of the tough Pac-12 in ERA. Megan Kleist leads the the Pac-12 with a 1.21 ERA, Maggie Balint is third with a 1.23 and Miranda Elish is fifth with a 1.62.
- OF Alexis Mack and OF Danica Mercado rank first and second, respectively, in the Pac-12 in stolen bases. Mack leads the league with 27 while Mercado is just behind her in second with 25.
- Oregon hitters have struck out five times over five postseason games. UO pitchers have 38 Ks in the postseason.
- OF Shannon Rhodes is hitting a team-high .583 in the postseason with two doubles and three walks.

BROADCAST INFO
- The ESPN family of networks will broadcast every game at the Women's College World Series. Be sure to follow the Ducks on twitter (@OregonSB) or check the softball schedule at GoDucks.com for TV info.
- The Oregon IMG Sports Network will air UO's WCWS games on the radio with Joey McMurry on the call. TuneIn will carry the games as well via its app.
- Live stats are available on the NCAA.com bracket.

WCWS HISTORY
- Oregon is making its fifth trip to the WCWS (1986, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017), but the Ducks also made two appearances in the AIAW World Series (1976, 1980).
- The Ducks are 2-4 against teams in the 2017 WCWS (1-2 vs. Washington, 1-2 vs. UCLA).
- In Oregon's last trip to the WCWS (2015), the Ducks lost to UCLA, 7-1, in their first game and were eliminated by Alabama, 2-1, in their second game.
- In the 2014 WCWS, the Ducks defeated Florida State, 3-0, in their opening game, lost to Florida in their second game, 4-0, rebounded with a win to eliminate Oklahoma, 4-2, but lost to Alabama, 2-0, in the semifinals.
- In the 2012 WCWS the Ducks lost to Arizona State, 3-1, to open the tournament but defeated Tennessee in their second game, 3-1. Oregon was eliminated by California, 6-3.
- Nikki Udria is 4-for-13 in two WCWS trips (six games) with a double, two runs scored and a RBI. Sammie Puentes went 1-for-2 in 2014 but did not have an at-bat in the 2015 WCWS. Lauren Lindvall went 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI in the 2015 WCWS while Jenna Lilley went 2-for-7 that year. Danica Mercado had two at-bats in 2015 but did not record a hit.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
- Oregon is 64-42 all-time in postseason play and 37-15 under head coach Mike White after sweeping through regionals and super regionals this season.
- In 2017, the Ducks are making their 19th appearance in the NCAA tournament overall, not including two AIAW tournament trips in 1976 and 1980 before the NCAA sponsored women's sports.
- Oregon's first NCAA regional appearance was in 1989, when the Ducks also advanced to their first WCWS in Sunnyvale, Calif. Oregon has gone on to the WCWS four times since, in 2012, 2014, 2015 and now 2017.

#SCRAPPY
- Oregon has scored 38 runs in the postseason without hitting a home run.
- The Ducks are 25-4 when hitting no home runs this season and 19-1 when hitting one homer. Oregon has hit two-or-more homers in a game just nine times.
- The Ducks jump on teams early, outscoring opponents 66-9 in the first inning this season.
- Oregon is 10-1 in one-run games.
- The Ducks have 42 sacrifice bunts this season and 19 sacrifice flies.
- Oregon is 98-for-115 on stolen bases this year, the third-most in UO single-season history. The record is 126 stolen bases in 2007.
- In the Ducks' 6-5 comeback win over Kentucky in super regionals, Oregon tallied 10 hits, all singles. Oregon scored four runs in the seventh to win on four singles, one error and one walk. Oregon trailed, 5-2, entering the seventh inning.
- In the Ducks' 5-4 comeback win against Wisconsin in regionals, Oregon tallied nine hits with only one extra base hit (a Shannon Rhodes double). The Ducks scored two runs on three hits to tie the game in the seventh and scored a run on two hits, a sac bunt and an error in the eighth.

SWIPE SISTERS
Sophomore Alexis Mack (27) and senior Danica Mercado (25) are first and second in the Pac-12 in stolen bases, respectively. As a team, the Ducks have a Pac-12-high 98 stolen bases this year, 45 more than Cal in second place.

207 WINS
Oregon's group of seniors have gone 207-33-1 over the last four seasons, two more than the 205 wins set by last year's group of seniors for the most in program history.

UDRIA ATTACKING THE RECORD BOOK
Nikki Udria is working her way into contention for multiple Oregon career records. Udria is currently tied for second in UO history with 193 career runs with the record of 204 held by Janie Takeda (2015). She's third with 178 RBIs with Janelle Lindvall setting the record of 195 in 2016. Udria is fourth in UO history with 243 hits and fifth with a .375 career batting average.

STRIKEOUT-TO-WALK RATIOS
Sophomore RHP Megan Kleist has 146 strikeouts and just 32 walks, a 4.6-to-1 ratio.
- Freshman RHP Maggie Balint has 151 strikeouts this season compared to just 36 walks, a 4.2-to-1 ratio.
- Freshman RHP Miranda Elish has 96 strikeouts but only 23 walks for a 4.2-to-1 ratio.

IN THE CIRCLE
- With a 1.33 team ERA, the Ducks rank fifth in the NCAA and first in the Pac-12.
- Of teams in the WCWS, the Ducks own the second-best ERA, behind only Florida (0.69 team ERA).
- The Ducks have allowed more than three earned runs in a game just four times this season.
- Oregon's 1.33 ERA is the program's lowest since posting a 1.31 ERA in 1993.
- Oregon owns three of the top-5 ERAs in the Pac-12 this season, highlight by Megan Kleist's league-leading 1.21 ERA Kleists has allowed just one earned run in the postseason thus far.
- Maggie Balint leads the Pac-12 with a .171 opponent batting average.

EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
- Oregon has ranked first (.353 in 2016), third (.359 in 2015), third (.342 in 2014) and seventh (.329 in 2013) in the NCAA in hitting over the last five years. The Ducks are eighth in the NCAA this season with a .328 team batting average.
- Oregon is the only team in the WCWS to have a batting average ranked in the top-10 of the NCAA.
- The Ducks are fifth in the country and rank second in the league with a .423 on-base percentage.
- Oregon is fifth in scoring in the NCAA, averaging 6.64 runs per game.
- Oregon owns two of the top-5 batting averages in the Pac-12. Alexis Mack is second with a .417 batting average while Nikki Udria is fifth with a .396.
- Mack is fourth in the league with a .497 OBP.

THE DUCKS UNDER MIKE WHITE
- Oregon is 16-8 vs. Arizona, 14-12-1 vs. Arizona State, 17-8 vs. California, 24-3 vs. Oregon State, 19-5 vs. Stanford, 13-15 vs. UCLA, 16-1 vs. Utah and 14-9 vs. Washington under Mike White.
- Longest losing streak is just four games (2010)
- Longest winning streak is 35 games (2017)
- The Ducks are 43-15-3 overall in Pac-12 series.
- The Ducks have been swept three times in a Pac-12 series under White while sweeping opponents 27 times.
- 4-11 against No. 1 ranked teams
- 37-15 in the postseason, 24-0 in regionals.
- UO has advanced to Super regionals every year under White with four WCWS trips.
- Including 2017, White has coached 30 first team all-Pac-12 selections in his eight seasons in Eugene.