Softball Hosts Oregon State In Dodge Civil War, Travels To Bay Area
COMING UP - PAC-10 PLAY IN FULL SWING
Oregon continues conference action with four games this week. The Ducks will host No. 7 Oregon State in the Dodge Civil War Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Howe Field. The Beavers recently had their 28-game win-streak snapped by visiting Arizona State and will be looking to get back on a winning track. Oregon will then travel to the Bay Area to face California and Stanford over the weekend. All three teams the Ducks will be facing are currently in the top 10 in both polls.
TV TIME
The Civil War game will be broadcast on Comcast 14 at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Joe Giansante will provide play-by-play and former Portland State head coach and current Portland State athletic director Teri Mariani will provide color.
RECENTLY
The weather bug has finally come to hit Oregon as the Ducks were only able to complete one Pac-10 game last weekend. The weekend opened with Oregon hosting No. 9 Arizona State on Friday at Howe Field. The game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning because of rain. At the time, ASU was leading 2-1, but the Ducks had runners at first and second with one out. The game will resume where it left off when Oregon travels to Tempe in May. On Saturday, Oregon and No. 3 Arizona endured rain throughout, but managed to complete the game with the Wildcats winning 4-1. Arizona ace Alicia Hollowell returned to action for the first time since Mar. 19 and struck out 11 batters. Oregon sophomore Lovena Chaput drove in senior Beth Boskovich for the lone run of the game. Sunday’s game between Arizona and Oregon was postponed due to rain and will be made up in Tucson in May.
HEAD COACH KATHY ARENDSEN (504-351 career, 132-76 oregon)
Now in her fourth season at the helm of the University of Oregon softball program, head coach Kathy Arendsen has steadily rebuilt the Duck softball program back to a contender at both the conference and national level. In her first season, the Ducks finished third in the Pac-10 conference with a 10-11 conference mark ? their highest league finish since 1990. Oregon returned to postseason play that year and last season, Arendsen guided the Ducks to their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. The Ducks’ third straight postseason appearance marked just the second time in school history that the program made three straight appearances and in 2006, Arendsen and the Ducks will be looking for an unprecedented fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Arendsen led the Ducks to a 36-25 overall, 7-14 conference mark in 2005 and she has tripled Oregon’s conference win mark (27) in her first three seasons after the team won just nine Pac-10 games in the three seasons prior to her arrival. The memorable 2003 season ended with a 37-19 overall record and Arendsen guided the Ducks to their most Pac-10 wins since 1998, back-to-back home wins over a conference opponent for the first time since 1998 and a sweep of Washington for the first time since 1993. There was more to come in 2004 as the team defeated every Pac-10 team for the first time since 1998. Oregon’s 1-0 win over No. 1 Arizona marked the first time in school history that the Ducks defeated a top-ranked team and the squad won the series over Washington for the second straight year. It marked the first time in school history that Oregon won the series over the Huskies in back to back seasons. Following the 2004 season, several players were honored for their play. Pitcher Ani Nyhus earned first-team all-Pac-10 accolades while catcher Jenn Poore earned second-team all-conference honors. Beth Boskovich and Ashley Richards were honorable mention selections and the four were named to the NCAA regional all-tournament team while Poore also earned first-team Easton All-American honors. In November of 2004, Arendsen was the only American in the record class of 19 inductees to be elected into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
OREGON STATE: The Beavers were in the midst of one of hottest win-streaks in the country before falling 3-2 to then-No. 9 Arizona State last Saturday. Oregon State had lost since opening day (Feb. 10) and after dropping its first two games of the season, did not lost again until Saturday. Offensively, they are second in the league in average (.337), second in home runs (36) and fourth in RBI (179). Two players ? Mia Longfellow (.411) and DeAnn Young (.403) are hitting above .400. Pitcher Brianne McGowan paces Oregon State in the circle, boasting a 16-2 record. She is also third on the team with a .391 batting average.
CALIFORNIA: The Bears most recently split with No. 2 UCLA, defeating the Bruins 10-3 in Los Angeles on Saturday before falling 3-1 on Sunday. As a team, the Bears are hitting .324 and have 189 RBI. Haley Woods is sixth in the lead and paces the team with a .420 average while teammate Alex Sutton is right behind with a .417 average. Woods also has 44 RBI, which is second in the Pac-10. Pitcher Kristina Thorson has a 0.85 ERA and leads the Pac-10 with 239 strikeouts.
STANFORD: The Cardinal went 1-2 in the opening weekend of Pac-10 play falling to UCLA Friday before splitting with the Huskies in Seattle. They are currently hitting .325, which is third-best in the league. Pitcher Laura Severson leads the pitching staff with a 1.38 ERA while Missa Penna has a 1.42 ERA. Penna is ninth in the conference with 119 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .172 batting average.
LAST TIME AROUND
Oregon State swept the Ducks in three games last season and has won the last four Civil War meetings. The Ducks did win the series in 2003 and 2004 and 4-5 vs. the Beavers since the arrival of Coach Arendsen. Oregon did not fare well agains the Bay Area schools last year, dropping all six games. Both games at Cal were 1-0 losses and last season at Stanford, the Ducks fell 5-1. Prior to last season, Oregon had won the series with Stanford in Arendsen’s first two seasons (2003, 2004). The Ducks have yet to win the series vs. California under Arendsen and are 2-7 vs. the Bears dating back to 2003. Oregon is 4-5 vs. Stanford in Arendsen’s first three seasons.
DUCKS FINALLY HEALTHY AND INTACT
All of Oregon’s pitchers are now available and injury free for the first time this season. Senior Alicia Cook (academics) returned vs. DePaul on Sun., Mar. 26 while senior Amy Harris (shoulder) returned two days earlier vs. BYU. Freshman catcher Courtney Shlee, who was expected to miss the entire season with a thumb injury, has also been cleared to play. Shlee, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., made her first start in the Ducks’ opening game vs. UAB on Mar 28. She has since started vs. Arizona State and Arizona.
