Ducks Host ASU In Final Series of 2019

Thursday, May 9

Eugene, OR

5:00 PM

University of Oregon

Arizona State

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The Oregon Ducks take on the Portland State Vikings at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on April 23, 2019 (Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photography)

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

05/07/19 | Softball

TICKETS SB Notes: Arizona State

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon softball team will look to finish the 2019 season strong this week as the Ducks return to Eugene for a three-game series against Arizona State at Jane Sanders Stadium.

The Ducks (22-27, 5-16) will open their final series of 2019 on Thursday at 5 p.m., with game two scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday and the season finale set for 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Thursday's series opener will be a yellow-out game for childhood cancer awareness, while Friday's game will be Oregon's Strikeout Cancer pink game. UO will wrap up the season on with Senior Day on Saturday, honoring Cherish Burks, April Utecht, Darya Kaboli-Nejad and Bayley Bruner prior to the game for their contributions to the program.

HOW TO FOLLOW
All three games this weekend will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks, with Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn calling the action. Matt Tyra and KWVA Radio will have the radio call at 88.1 FM and kwva.uoregon.edu/listen-live, and live stats will be available at Oregon.Statbroadcast.com.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State (30-18, 10-11) boasts one of the most dynamic offenses in the country, leading the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.607), runs (359), RBIs (332) and doubles (84) while ranking second in OBP (.419) and third in batting average (.318). The Sun Devils are led by the big bats of Morgan Howe (.417, 11 HR, 54 RBI) and Kindra Hackbarth (.411, 14 HR, 50 RBI); Howe leads the Pac-12 in OBP (.515) and Hackbarth is No. 1 in runs scored (57). ASU rotates three pitchers in the circle, led by Samantha Mejia (13-9, 4.74 ERA, 109.1 IP).

SHORTHANDED DUCKS BATTLE IN SALT LAKE CITY
The Ducks were eliminated from postseason contention after dropping two out of three against Utah over the weekend, but Oregon was forced to play through a lot of adversity as it has throughout the 2019 season. UO was without JR OF Haley Cruse and FR IF Jasmine Sievers all weekend due to injuries, SO UT Shaye Bowden played through an injury and FR UT Hannah Galey, filling in for Cruse in center field, left the series finale with an apparent injury. The Ducks continued to fight as they have all season, tying Friday's series opener on a home run by SR C/1B April Utecht before falling on a walk-off, and bouncing back with a big 9-4 win in game two behind a huge day at the plate by FR IF Rachel Cid. Oregon was up 3-0 in the rubber match before defensive miscues helped Utah score 11 unanswered to win and take the series.

CID NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
FR IF Rachel Cid was named the Pac-12 freshman of the week on Monday for the second time this season after a terrific weekend at Utah. Cid hit .750 (6-for-8) in the three-game series with five RBIs, including a four-hit, four-RBI game with two doubles on Saturday. Cid raised her season batting average by 30 points over the weekend and is now batting .268 with 31 RBIs, second-most on the team, and she showed her versatility while sliding over from third base to shortstop to fill in for Sievers. Cid, who also won the first Pac-12 freshman of the week award of 2019, has provided a power bat for Oregon with nine home runs this season, the most by a UO freshman since Janelle Lindvall (13) in 2013.

DUCKS GRINDING THROUGH LOADED SCHEDULE
The new-look Ducks have played a brutal schedule in Melyssa Lombardi's first season, ranking 16th in the nation in strenghth of schedule while playing 35 games away from home. 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 played 11 games against ranked teams during their 12-game slide from Feb. 28 to March 25.

WORKHORSE DAIL CARRYING DUCKS IN 2019
SO LHP Jordan Dail has been an absolute workhorse so far in 2019 for the Ducks after transferring to Oregon from Virginia Tech. Dail (18-15, 3.88 ERA) leads the Pac-12 and is No. 2 nationally with a career-high 232.2 innings pitched, 70.0 more than any other pitcher in the Pac-12 and the ninth-most in UO single-season history. Dail has racked up strikeouts at an impressive rate, ranking second in the Pac-12 and 14th in the NCAA with a career-high 229, currently No. 7 on the UO single-season list. The Forest, Va., native has thrown 22 complete games and five shutouts, including two seven-inning no-hitters. Dail also leads the Pac-12 in games started (36) and appearances (42), and she is tied for fourth with 18 wins. More on Dail on page 16.

RED-HOT BUNKER HITTING EVERYTHING
FR IF Allee Bunker has been scorching hot at the plate over the last month-plus, batting a team-high .437 (231-for-71) with a .459 on-base percentage over the last 21 games. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native is second on the team in hitting (.348) and first with 17 multi-hit games, including eight in the last 13 contests. Oregon's second baseman has been terrific in conference play, hitting a team-high .386 - good for No. 8 in the Pac-12 - with two doubles, a triple and a grand slam. Bunker has been a true contact hitter all season long, striking out just 10 times in a team-high 158 at-bats. Bunker moved up to the leadoff spot last weekend with JR OF Haley Cruse out and went 2-for-4 on Friday and then 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored on Saturday.

SUPER UTILITY BOWDEN LEADING DUCKS IN RBIs
SO UT Shaye Bowden has been one of Oregon's most valuable players this season, producing from the middle of the order while shining in a super utility role on defense. Bowden leads the team with 32 RBIs while hitting .319 with six home runs and 10 doubles, and she is batting .389 with three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 12 games. Defensively, Bowden leads the Pac-12 with 14 runners caught stealing in 36 games behind the plate, and she has also spent time at first base, second base, third base and right field.

DOUBLES MACHINE SIEVERS KEEPS ON HITTING
FR IF Jasmine Sievers has been terrific for the Ducks in her rookie campaign, leading the team in slugging percentage (.574), OPS (.974), doubles (14) and extra-base hits (19). The freshman is currently third in batting average at .344, but has been the Ducks' leading hitter for much of the season. Sievers is batting .373 with nine doubles and two home runs over her last 19 games, including a 4-for-4 game against reigning national player of the year Rachel Garcia and No. 1 UCLA on April 13, and she has hit .377 with eighth doubles and three of her four home runs during conference play. Sievers is fifth in the Pac-12 with 14 doubles, currently tied for seventh in UO single-season history and just four shy of the program record.

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 18 games she has played since moving back to the top of the order, Cruse is batting .417 (25-for-60) with a .478 on-base percentage, two home runs and 14 runs scored. On the season, Cruse leads the team in hitting (.350) while ranking fourth in the Pac-12 in walks (29) and ninth in OBP (.464). Cruse has also been dynamic on the base paths, ranking sixth in the conference with a career-high 13 stolen bases. The junior is batting .382 so far in Pac-12 play - No. 9 in the conference - after leading the league last season with a .426 batting average in conference games.

UTECHT PROVIDING CLUTCH POWER, PATIENCE
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 team-high 10 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.

OREGON TAKING PATIENT PLATE APPROACH
The Ducks have shown terrific patience at the plate this season, leading the Pac-12 and ranking in the top 30 nationally with 184 walks as a team. SR C/1B April Utecht has drawn walks at an impressive rate while also providing a power bat, ranking second in the Pac-12 and seventh in UO single-season history with a team-high 34 free passes. JR OF Haley Cruse is fourth in the conference with 29 walks, and FR IF Rachel Cid is tied for eighth with 26.

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 fourth in the Pac-12 in fielding percentage (.969), committing only 41 errors as a team. Oregon also leads the conference in runners caught stealing (17), led by SO UT Shaye Bowden's Pac-12-best 14 from behind the plate.

FRESHMEN SHOULDERING HEAVY LOAD
The Ducks have relied heavily on freshmen early on in 2019 . IF Allee Bunker (2B), and IF Rachel Cid (3B) have both started all 49 games for Oregon, IF Jasmine Sievers has started 42 games at shortstop and FR OF Lexi Wagner and FR UT Hannah Galey have made 40 and 38 starts, respectively. FR C Annalisa Williamson has also started 18 games, and FR IF Katelyn Howard has made seven starts.