Closing Out The Preseason: Softball Hosts Nevada, BYU
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Nevada: Oregon is 5-3 all-time vs. Nevada, most recently sweeping a doubleheader vs. the Wolfpack at Howe Field in 2003. Nevada is currently 10-14 overall, 2-1 WAC after going 2-2 at the Hawaii Tournament last weekend. Freshman pitcher Jordan McPherson ranks fourth in the WAC in ERA (1.53) while Candace Rainwater rankes 11th (2.88). Offensively, Jiliane Hartfiel and Rainwater lead the Wolfpack, hitting .373 and .329, respectively. Hartfiel has five home runs and Rainwater leads the way with 12 RBI.
BYU: The Cougars rank at No. 26 in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, receiving 26 votes behind No. 25 Florida State (43). BYU’s offense is impressive as six players are hitting above .300, including Ariel Capra (.524), Lauren Watson-Perry (.492) and Paige Paramore (.438). As a team, the Cougars have 32 home runs led by Ashlyn Russell’s 10. Pitcher Summer Tobias has pitched 56.2 innings and has a 1.73 ERA and 47 strikeouts.
HARRIS CARRYING THE LOAD
Junior pitcher Amy Harris has allowed just three earned runs in her last 52.1 innings pitched...during that stretch, Harris has 58 strikeouts...Last weekend, Harris allowed just one run to score and finished the weekend 3-1 with a save, giving up 12 hits and six walks in 27.2 innings pitched...With her impressive weekend, Harris surpassed standout Katie Wiese on the all-time strikeout list, moving to fourth all-time with 351 strikeouts...Harris is also ninth all-time with 30 career wins.
EVERYTHING EADUS
Freshman T.J. Eadus, who splits time between third base, catcher and designated player, had a hit in nine consecutive games before having the streak snapped last weekend...Eadus currently leads the team in average (.396)...since taking over at third base for the injured Joanna Gail, Eadus has no errors, 35 putouts and 28 assists.
BARNES: ALL AROUND LEADER
Sophomore Suzie Barnes isn’t just a leader off the field...the center fielder currently leads the team in the following categories (min. 10 At bats): Slugging percentage (.661), Runs scored (14), Hits (22), RBI (12), Total Bases (41) and starts (25)...Barnes is the only player to have started all 25 games this season...On Feb. 20 vs. Portland State, Barnes scored the winning run in the first game of the doubleheader...in the second game, Barnes hit a triple and a home run...On Mar. 9, Barnes hit the game-winning RBI in sixth inning against the Vikings to lead the Ducks to a 2-1 win.
RANKING AMONG THE BEST
Oregon’s 37 doubles currently rankes second in the Pac-10...the Ducks have 39 sacrifice bunts to lead the conference while junior Breanne Sabol leads the conference with 10 sacrifice bunts...freshman T.J. Eadus ranks seventh in the conference in average (.396) and Kristi Leiter ranks 10th (.385)...pitcher Amy Harris’ 1.22 ERA ranks her eighth in the conference while her 76 strikeouts is ninth.
COOK AT HOME AT HOWE
Local product Alicia Cook (Elmira) made her Howe Field debut against Portland State Feb. 20 and struck out 12 batters ? the third-best single-game outing in school history ? en route to a 2-1 victory. In three appearances (13 IP) at Howe Field this season, Cook is 1-0 with a 0.54 ERA, 16 strikeouts and one walk.
HOLDING ON
Oregon is 12-1 when leading after the fourth inning, 11-0 when leading after five and 10-0 when leading after six innings.
NOTES
*With 33 stolen bases this season, Oregon has already surpassed its total (29) from all of 2004
*Oregon is down 10 games this season; Every preseason tournament except one was cut short or cancelled due to rain
*Four different players have hit leadoff for the Ducks this season ? Lovena Chaput (20); Breanne Sabol (2); Suzie Barnes (2) and Dani Baird (1)
*Suzie Barnes (CF) is the only player to have started all 25 games at the same position this season
*Alicia Cook’s 12 strikeouts vs. Portland State Feb. 20 is the third-best single-game performance in school history.
*Breanne Sabol has 10 sacrifice bunts this season ? first in the Pac-10; Sabol was tied for third in the nation in sacrifice bunts (29) in 2004
*Ashley Richards started at third base Feb. 20 vs. Portland State; Richards started at the corner in 2004, but has since taken over as the Ducks’ starting catcher in 2005...she is one of three options at third base while freshman Joanna Gail recovers from an elbow injury.
*Oregon has hit a grand slam in its season opener the past two seasons (Beth Boskovich - 2003; Joanna Gail - 2004)
*Dani Baird (OF), Breanne Sabol (IF) and Alicia Cook (P) were named to the Hawaii Paradise Classic All-Tournament team.
*Oregon nearly broke three school records in its season-opening tournament. Against IPFW, the Ducks were one hit away from tying the single game record of 15 hits; With 13 RBI in the game, Oregon tied the single game RBI record; Against Jacksonville, Oregon had five stolen bases, one shy of the record set against Utah State in 2000.
*Oregon is currently 7-0 when it scores in the first inning.
*The Ducks are 15-0 when they outhit their opponent and 0-7 when an opponent records more hits....As a team, Oregon is 8-2 when committing zero errors, but 3-5 when committing more than two errors.
*Two current Oregon players competed in the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, Greece ? senior pitcher Ani Nyhus (Team Canada) and freshman third baseman Joanna Gail (Team Greece).
*Junior Beth Boskovich needs three home runs this season to break into the top-10 all-time list at Oregon
*Senior Erin Goodell has started 137 of Oregon’s last 142 games
*Pitcher Ani Nyhus threw the program’s 14th no-hitter last season in a 2-0 win over Utah State, Mar. 27; Nyhus also struck out a school record 16 batters in the win
*Nyhus became the first pitcher in school history to earn two Pac-10 pitcher of the week honors in one season when she was honored twice in 2004
*Ashley Richards needs seven home runs to break into the top-10 all-time at Oregon; Richards also needs just four doubles to be in the top-10 all time at Oregon ? she hit 14 doubles in 2004, tied for second-most in a single season ever
*Center fielder Suzie Barnes has started 61 consecutive games and started all but four games for the Ducks as a freshman in 2004
*Head coach Kathy Arendsen guided the Ducks to more conference wins (20) in her first two seasons than the Ducks had in the previous four years combined (19; 1999-2002).
*The 2004 team set a program record when it won 14 consecutive games (Feb. 15-Mar.5).
*The 2004 team had the fewest errors in a season than any other team in Duck history.
