Ducks Return to Pac-12 Play at No. 1 UCLA

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon softball team will face a big test in its return to Pac-12 play this weekend as the Ducks fly to Los Angeles for a three-game series at No. 1 UCLA.

Oregon (16-19, 1-8) will open the series against the top-ranked Bruins (35-1, 9-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday, with game two scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday and the finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Ducks are coming off a 3-1 nonconference weekend at the Mizzou Tournament in Columbia, Mo., where they picked up two wins over Pittsburgh and one against Missouri behind a stellar weekend by SO LHP Jordan Dail, who was named the Pac-12 pitcher of the week.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network, with Anne Marie Anderson (pxp) and Tammy Blackburn (analyst) on the call. Sunday's series finale will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and will be called by Courtney Lyle (pxp) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst). Matt Tyra and KWVA Radio will also have the radio call for all three games on 88.1 FM and kwva.uoregon.edu/listen-live. Live stats will be available at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com.

ABOUT NO. 1 UCLA
The unanimous No. 1 team in the country, the Bruins (35-1, 9-0) have won 19 straight after opening the year 16-0, with their only loss coming to Michigan on March 1. UCLA leads the nation in ERA (1.12) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.76), and ranks fifth in batting average (.350) and runs per game (7.5). The Bruins are led by 2018 national player of the year Rachel Garcia, who is 15-0 with a NCAA-best 0.50 ERA in the circle while batting .344 with six home runs and 31 RBIs. Oregon has won two straight vs. UCLA after winning the three-game series last season in Eugene.

DAIL NAMED PAC-12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
SO LHP Jordan Dail was named the Pac-12 pitcher of the week on Monday after a stellar weekend in Missouri where she went 3-0 with three complete games in a span of 24 hours. The lefty allowed just five runs on seven hits with 23 strikeouts over 19.0 total innings, picking up two wins over Pittsburgh and one against Missouri. Dail was especially good against the home Tigers, giving up just one run on two hits with seven strikeouts in seven complete innings.

DUCKS GRINDING THROUGH LOADED SCHEDULE
Through 35 games, the Ducks own the nation's sixth-toughest strength of schedule before playing three games at No. 1 UCLA. Oregon has played 15 games against teams ranked in the NFCA top 25, headlined by a win over then-No. 8 LSU on Feb. 15. Oregon played 11 games against ranked teams during its recent 12-game slide.

YOUNG DUCKS FLASHING THE LEATHER
Oregon's defense, which has often been comprised of mostly underclassmen, has been incredibly solid so far this season. The Ducks are second in the Pac-12 and No. 10 nationally in fielding percentage (.977), committing a conference-low 20 errors through 35 games. Oregon also leads the conference in runners caught stealing (14), led by SO UT Shaye Bowden's Pac-12-best 12 from behind the plate.

DAIL ESTABLISHING WORKHORSE REPUTATION
SO LHP Jordan Dail has been an absolute workhorse so far in 2019 for the Ducks after transferring to Oregon from Virginia Tech. Dail (13-8, 3.53 ERA) leads the Pac-12 and is top-10 nationally with 152.2 innings pitched, 30.1 more than any other pitcher in the Pac-12, and she is second in the conference and 15th in the NCAA with 165 strikeouts. The Forest, Va., native has thrown 14 complete games and three shutouts, including two seven-inning no-hitters, and she leads the Pac-12 in games started (23) and appearances (28).

CRUSE SETTING THE TABLE IN LEADOFF SPOT
HC Melyssa Lombardi moved JR OF Haley Cruse back to the leadoff spot prior to the Stanford series (March 29-31), and the move has paid off in spades. Since returning to the top spot in the order, Cruse is batting .455 with a .520 on-base percentage in seven games. On the season, Cruse is hitting a team-best .333 while ranking second in the Pac-12 in walks (25) and just outside the top 10 in OBP (.468), and she is sixth in the conference with a team-high 11 stolen bases.

SIEVERS, BUNKER LEADING FRESHMEN BATS
Three Ducks are hitting better than .300 entering this weekend, and two are freshman. FR IF Jasmine Sievers is batting .326 and is tied for the team lead with 11 extra-base hits, while FR IF Allee Bunker is hitting .315. Sievers has been UO's leading hitter for much of the season, and was a home run shy of the cycle in a 3-for-3 game on March 27 at Pacific. Bunker is batting .476 (10-for-21) over the last seven games, including a grand slam on March 29 and her first career three-hit game last Saturday vs. Missouri.

UTECHT, CID PROVIDING THE POWER
Oregon is currently tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with 27 home runs this season, led by seven each from SR C/1B April Utecht and FR IF Rachel Cid. Both Ducks have three home runs in the last eight games, with Utecht going deep twice last weekend in Missouri and Cid once. Utecht is tied with SO UT Shaye Bowden, who has three home runs, for the team RBI lead with 23, and Cid is right behind with 22. FR IF Jasmine Sievers and FR UT Hannah Galey also have three long balls and SR OF Cherish Burks has two.

BOWDEN SHOWCASING SUPER UTILITY ABILITY
SO UT Shaye Bowden has been a true super utlilty player this season for the Ducks, playing five different positions already. Bowden has carried most of the load at catcher, where she has played 27 games and leads the Pac-12 with 12 runners caught stealing. The sophomore has also played four games at second base, three at first base and four in right field, and she crossed third base off the list last Sunday against Missouri when she played the final two innings there after FR IF Rachel Cid helped the pitching staff out with 1.1 innings in the circle.

DAIL FIRES SECOND NO-HITTER AT PACIFIC
SO LHP Jordan Dail was untouchable in Oregon's 5-0 win at Pacific on March 27, tossing her second no-hitter of the season with a career-high 13 strikeouts over seven shutout innings. She did walk five batters, but allowed just two to reach scoring position in arguably the most dominant outing of her career. Dail, who no-hit Florida Atlantic on Feb. 16, became just the fourth Duck in program history to throw multiple seven-inning no-hitters in the same season.

FRESHMEN SHOULDERING HEAVY LOAD
The Ducks have relied heavily on freshmen early on in 2019 as IF Allee Bunker, IF Rachel Cid and IF Jasmine Sievers have all started at least 31 games already. FR OF Lexi Wagner and FR UT Hannah Galey have also made 27 and 25 starts, respectively, and FR C Annalisa Williamson has started 14 games.

UP NEXT
After being on the road for 32 of their first 38 games, the Ducks will return home for a nine-game homestand beginning next weekend against California.