Ducks to Play Six Games Over Four Days at Mary Nutter Classic

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 17 Oregon softball team will aim to build on its strong start to the Melyssa Lombardi era this weekend with six games over four days at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.

Oregon is coming off a 2-2 weekend at the SPC Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., headlined by an 8-5 win over No. 8 LSU and a no-hitter by SO LHP Jordan Dail vs. FAU. The Ducks will face New Mexico State, Bethune-Cookman, Army West Point, Texas A&M, No. 23 Texas Tech and UC Santa Barbara this weekend in Cathedral City.

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How to Follow
All of Oregon's six games this weekend will be streamed on FloSoftball.com (subscription required), and KWVA Radio (Matt Tyra) will have broadcasts for all six games on 88.1 FM and kwvaradio.org/listen-live. Links to live stats will be available on GoDucks.com, and updates can be found on Twitter via @OregonSB.

Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time (PT)	Stream ($)
Feb. 21	New Mexico State	10:00 AM	FloSoftball
	Bethune-Cookman	12:30 PM	FloSoftball
Feb. 22	Army West Point	12:30 PM	FloSoftball
Feb. 23	Texas A&M	9:30 AM	FloSoftball
	#23 Texas Tech	12:00 PM	FloSoftball
Feb. 24	UC Santa Barbara	9:00 AM	FloSoftball

Upset of No. 8 LSU Headlines SPC Elite Invite
The Ducks came away with a 2-2 showing at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, headlined by an 8-5 win over No. 8 LSU. The Ducks built an early three-run lead before the Tigers tied the game, 4-4, in the fifth, but SR C/1B April Utecht put Oregon right back in front in the sixth with an RBI single. Utecht came through again in the seventh with a clutch three-run home run, her first of the year, giving her four RBIs over the fianl two innings. SO LHP Jordan Dail finished off a gritty complete-game outing in the circle and helped secure the first top-10 win of the Melyssa Lombardi era. Dail led Oregon to its second win in Clearwater the next day with her first career no-hitter in a 2-0 victory of Florida Atlantic, helping the Ducks bounce back from their first loss of the season vs. No. 23 James Madison. Oregon fell to No. 18 Kentucky to close the weekend and enter the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at 7-2 overall.

Dail Throws First No-Hitter, Improves to 5-0
SO LHP Jordan Dail continued her impressive start to the season over the weekend, going 2-0 while throwing her first career no-hitter with nine strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Florida Atlantic. Dail also went seven strong innings with eight punchouts to help Oregon beat No. 8 LSU, improving to a perfect 5-0 on the season. The Forest, Va., native opened the season with three wins and 26 strikeouts over 22.1 innings at the Kajikawa Classic to start the year, including a complete game to beat Missouri. Dail is second in the Pac-12 and seventh nationally in strikeouts (46), and first in the league in innings pitched (39.1) while owning a 2.85 ERA and .187 batting average against.

Young Ducks Showing Mature Plate Approach
The Ducks have shown a disciplined approach at the plate so far in 2019 with a lineup featuring six underclassmen. Oregon leads the Pac-12 with 48 total walks while striking out just 39 times, ranking second in the league with a .449 team on-base percentage. JR OF Haley Cruse leads the Pac-12 in walks (10) with FR Rachel Cid (8) second and SR C/1B April Utecht (7) tied for third, and FR IF Allee Bunker has yet to strike out in 32 collegiate at-bats.

Cid Producing From No. 3 Spot
FR IF Rachel Cid has made an impact from the get-go in the middle of Oregon's order at the No. 3 spot, showing impressive power and a knack for driving in runs. Cid (.393) is second in the Pac-12 with 14 RBIs and tied for the team lead with three home runs, and the Tracy, Calif., native already owns four multi-RBI games and two three-hit performances. Cid has also worked eight walks to rank second on the team with a .528 OBP.

Sievers Off and Running After Delayed Start
After missing the first four games rehabbing an injury, FR IF Jasmine Sievers has gotten her collegiate career off to a red-hot start at the plate. Sievers is 8-for-12 (.667) with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs through her first five games, beginning with a 3-for-3 day with a home run and three RBIs in her Duck debut vs. Seattle (2/10). Sievers was 5-for-9 (.556) last weekend in Clearwater, including two doubles vs. three-time all-American RHP Megan Good and No. 23 JMU.

Burks Quietly Off to Hot Start at the Plate
OF Cherish Burks has quietly gotten her senior season off to a hot start at the plate, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with 11 singles. Burks also has five free passes for a .516 OBP, and she is tied for second on the team with 10 runs scored.

Bowden Showcasing Super-Utility Ability
SO UT Shaye Bowden has already proved her value as a super-utility player through the first two weekends, playing four games at second base and three at catcher. Bowden has showcased a cannon of an arm behind the plate, already throwing out three runners trying to steal and picking off another. The sophomore has also gotten off to a great start at the plate, hitting .407 with a home run, triple, double and seven RBIs in eight games.

Top-25 Streak
After rising two more spots to No. 17 in the latest edition of the USA Today/NFCA poll, Oregon softball has now been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA poll for 137 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. UO opened the 2019 season at No. 25.

Up Next
Oregon will wrap its stretch of four straight weeks on the road at the loaded Judy Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif, beginning Feb. 28 vs. No. 3 Florida.