Ducks Host Portland State in Tuesday Doubleheader

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon softball team will wrap up its regular season nonconference schedule on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Portland State beginning at 4 p.m. at Jane Sanders Stadium.

Looking to make a postseason push in the stretch run of the season, the Ducks (19-22, 4-11 Pac-12) are coming off their first Pac-12 series win of the year after taking three from California last weekend in Eugene.

Fans can gain $2 admission to Tuesday's doubleheader by showing their BiMart card at the JSS ticket office.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Both games of Tuesday's doubleheader will be live streamed at GoDucks.com/Live. Matt Tyra and KWVA Radio will have the call on the live stream and can also be listened to at 88.1 FM and kwva.uoregon.edu/listen-live. Live stats will be available at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
PSU (16-24, 5-6 BSC) is coming off a three-game sweep of Southern Utah and is looking to snap a 15-game losing streak against the Ducks. Darian Lindsey leads the Vikings with a .400 batting average, six home runs and 28 RBIs, and Katie Schroeder has been the ace of the pitching staff with a 3.60 ERA in 101.0 innings.

DAIL WINS SECOND PAC-12 POW AWARD
SO LHP Jordan Dail earned her second Pac-12 pitcher of the week award this month on Monday after a phenomenal weekend against Cal. Dail held the Golden Bears scoreless over 20.2 total innings, including back-to-back complete-game shutouts, racking up 22 strikeouts while allowing just 13 hits. Dail surpassed 300 career strikeouts and 200 strikeouts on the season over the weekend, and she is just one away from cracking the UO single-season top-10 list with 202 so far this year. Dail also earned the honor on April 8 after a stellar weekend in Missouri where she went 3-0 with three complete games in a span of 24 hours, allowing just five runs with 23 strikeouts in 19.0 total innings. In the month of April, Dail is 6-2 with a 2.30 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.

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DUCKS CLAIM FIRST PAC-12 SERIES WIN
Behind SO LHP Jordan Dail's stellar weekend in the circle, the Ducks took two of three from Cal to earn their first Pac-12 series win of 2019. FR IF Jasmine Sievers came through with a two-out RBI double in game one to back Dail in a 1-0 UO win, and both Sievers and JR OF Haley Cruse went deep in game two to help the Ducks clinch the series with a 4-0 victory. Oregon nearly came back from an early 5-0 deficit in game three with three runs in the final two innings, but Cal held on to salvage the series finale.

DUCKS GRINDING THROUGH LOADED SCHEDULE
The Ducks are currently No. 3 in the NCAA in strength of schedule entering Tuesday's doubleheader with Portland State. Oregon has played 18 games against teams ranked in the NFCA top 25, headlined by a win over No. 8 LSU on Feb. 15 and a 4-3 road upset of No. 1 UCLA on April 12. The Ducks have been road warriors in 2019, playing 32 of their first 38 games away from home. Oregon played 11 games against ranked teams during its 12-game slide from Feb. 28 to March 25.

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 (16-10, 3.35 ERA) leads the Pac-12 and is top-10 nationally with a career-high 188.1 innings pitched, 44.0 more than any other pitcher in the Pac-12, and she is second in the conference and 15th in the NCAA with a career-high 202 strikeouts. The Forest, Va., native has thrown 17 complete games and five shutouts, including two seven-inning no-hitters, and she leads the Pac-12 in games started (28) and appearances (34). Dail ranks fifth in the conference with 16 wins.

FRESHMAN SIEVERS ANCHORING OREGON LINEUP
FR IF Jasmine Sievers has been terrific for the Ducks in her rookie campaign, leading the team in batting average (.352), slugging (.600), OPS (1.005), doubles (12) and extra-base hits (17). Sievers hit .444 with two doubles and a home run last weekend against Cal and she batted .500 the previous weekend at then-No. 1 UCLA, including a 4-for-4 game against reigning national player of the year Rachel Garcia. Sievers is tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with doubles, just two away from breaking into the UO single-season top 10, and seven of those 12 doubles have come in the last 14 games. During that stretch, Sievers is hitting .405 with a .762 slugging percentage and a team-high 11 RBIs.

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RED-HOT BUNKER PROVING TO BE A TOUGH OUT
FR IF Allee Bunker has been scorching hot at the plate recently, hitting safely in seven straight games and 12 of the last 13 while batting .463 (19-for-41) with a .476 on-base percentage during that span. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native hit .400 last weekend vs. Cal, including an RBI triple in game two, and she leads the team with 12 multi-hit games while ranking third with a .336 batting average. Bunker has been an extremely tough out all season, striking out just eight times through her first 128 at-bats.

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 junior has been terrific since. In the 13 games since moving back to the top of the order, Cruse is batting .415 (17-for-41) with a .478 on-base percentage and 11 runs scored. On the season, Cruse is second on the team in hitting (.339) while tying for second in the Pac-12 in walks (27) and ranking 11th in OBP (.462). Cruse has also been dynamic on the base paths, ranking sixth in the conference with a career-high 11 stolen bases. The junior is batting .386 so far in Pac-12 play after leading the league last season with a .426 batting average in conference games.

UTECHT COMING UP BIG IN CLUTCH SPOTS
SR C/1B April Utecht has given the Ducks a big power threat in the middle of their lineup, and she has shown a knack for coming through in the clutch. Utecht blasted a huge two-run homer with two outs in Oregon's 4-3 win at No. 1 UCLA on April 12, giving UO a lead it would not relinquish. Of Utecht's eight home runs this season, four have been go-ahead blasts against, in order, No. 8 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Washington and No. 1 UCLA. Utecht is currently tied for the team home run lead with FR IF Rachel Cid.

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 31 games and leads the Pac-12 with 13 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 on April 7 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. Bowden has also been one of Oregon's best bats, hitting .310 with four homers and 24 RBIs, tied for second-most on the team.

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YOUNG DUCKS FLASHING THE LEATHER
Oregon's defense, which has often been comprised of mostly underclassmen, has been very solid so far this season. The Ducks are tied for third in the Pac-12 and 35th nationally in fielding percentage (.971), committing the second-fewest errors in the conference (30). Oregon also leads the conference in runners caught stealing (15), led by SO UT Shaye Bowden's Pac-12-best 13 from behind the plate.

FRESHMEN SHOULDERING HEAVY LOAD
The Ducks have relied heavily on freshmen early on in 2019 . IF Allee Bunker, and IF Rachel Cid have both started all 41 games for Oregon, IF Jasmine Sievers has started 37 straight games at shortstop and FR OF Lexi Wagner and FR UT Hannah Galey have made 32 and 31 starts, respectively. FR C Annalisa Williamson has also started 15 games, and FR IF Katelyn Howard has made five starts.

UP NEXT
Oregon will wrap its eight-game homestand with a three-game Civil War series against Oregon State.