No. 17 Ducks On Deck For Vegas Tourney
EUGENE - The No. 17 University of Oregon softball team (20-2) looks ahead this week to their fifth of six early season tournaments, and their final on the road before they host the Cascade Clash - their home opener - at Howe Field in Eugene, next Fri.-Sun., March 16-18.
This weekend, the Ducks have four games at UNLV's Eller Miller Stadium Classic, Thu.-Sat., and open with UNLV (15-9), Thu., afternoon at 5 p.m. (PT). Oregon then has a double-header with New Mexico State and Miami (Ohio) on Fri., at 1:30 and 8:15 p.m., respectively, and then plays Longwood on Sat., at 3:45 p.m.
More tournament info is available at the http://unlvrebels.com website at the http://unlvrebels.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/unlv-w-softbl-body.html URL address.
The Ducks raised their school record winning streak to 18 games last week in Hawai'i before a dramatic 2-1, ninth-inning loss to St. Mary's last Fri., which they promptly avenged the next day with a 10-1 win. The Ducks won the tournament championship on Sunday with a 6-0 shutout of No. 23 Georgia. Earlier in the six-game tourney, the Ducks (5-1) added round robin bracket wins over Georgia (5-0) and No. 24 Hawai'i (6-1).
At the end of the Pepsi Malihini Aloha Tournament, junior third baseman Joanna Gail was named the tourney MVP, and sophomore pitcher Melissa Rice, freshman shortstop Jennifer Salling and senior designated player Ann Marie Topps were also honored to the all-tourney team.
Gail led or tied for the lead Duck starters in the six game stretch in eight offensive tournament categories, including home runs (1), average (.462), slugging (.923), on-base percentage (.600), walks (6), total bases (12), sacrifice flies (1) and sacrifice hits (1).
Salling played in five of the six games – all Duck wins – and fought through a stomach illness the last two games to end 6-15 overall, added 3 RBI and four walks, and posted a .400 avg., .400 slugging average and .526 on-base percentage. In six games.
Topps knocked in three game-winning RBIs, including go-ahead runs in both wins vs. Georgia and the 10-1 win over St. Mary’s. The Costa Mesa, Calif., native went 8-19 overall at the plate with eight hits, 1 double, 1 home run, 5 RBI, and ended with a .421 batting average, .632 slugging average and .455 on-base percentage.
Rice was equally impressive on the mound and went 3-1 in her four complete games with one shutout. In her 29 2/3 innings, she struck out 23 batters, and allowed 13 hits and only two earned runs, and opposing batters hit only .135 against her.
Complete overall season statistics are available in the STATISTICS dropdown menu on the softball main page at www.GoDucks.com.
UPCOMING ACTION
This Week - Eller Media Stadium Classic, Las Vegas, Nevada (Host: UNLV)
Thu, March 8 - UNLV , 5 p.m.
Fri, March 9 - New Mexico State, 1:30 p.m.
Fri, March 9 - Miami (Ohio), 8:15 p.m.
Sat, March 10 - Longwood, 3:45 p.m.
Next Week - Cascade Clash, Howe Field, Eugene (Host: Oregon)
Fri, March 16 - Utah State (DH), 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Sat, March 17 - Towson (DH), 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Sun, March 18 - South Dakota State (DH), 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Other Upcoming Home Games
Sat, March 24 - Idaho State (DH) , 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Sun, March 25 - Utah Valley State (DH), 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
HITTING NOTES
Sophomore centerfielder Sari-Jane Jenkins and redshirt freshman shortstop Jennifer Salling are tied for the team lead in multi-hit games with eight in '07. Three of Jenkins's games came in the Honlulu tournament, and she had also four in a five-game stretch in the earlier Las Vegas tournament ... Salling currently has an 11-game hitting streak tops on the team - and has hits in 18 of 21 games this season and 18 of the last 19 ... senior first baseman Kristi Leiter ranks second with her five-game streak ... Senior designated player Ann Marie Topps has a team-leading eight home runs this season and has already topped her previous career total (5), giving her 13 in her career only five shy of UO's top-10 list (#10 is Heather Holte, 18).
PITCHING NOTES
Junior right-hander Alicia Cook has pitched three straight shutouts and has a 25-inning scoreless inning streak going into this weekend's tournament. Her team-leading 10 victories this year gives her 26 in her career (11-'05, 5-'06) and is only two shy of UO's #10 spot (10th is Sony Schroeder, 28) ... sophomore Melissa Rice had a season-high nine strikeouts in the Hawai'i tourney championship game vs. No. 23 Georgia (her previous high was five). She has only given up three earned runs in the last 44 innings.
ON THE CHARTS
The Ducks climbed five spots in the National Fastpich Coaches Association (NFCA) poll this week to 17th, and only four teams in the poll have more wins than the Ducks so far in '07.
The ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Softball Poll will be released later Wed., afternoon and is available at the www.usasoftball.com website at the http://www.usasoftball.com/folders.asp?uid=1540 URL address. Last week the Ducks ranked 17th in the poll.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll
* courtesy of www.nfca.org website
Rank Team Record Pts Previous Week
1 Tennessee (30) 20-0 750 1
2 Arizona 14-3 685 3
3 Arizona State 21-2 670 2
4 Alabama 21-0 655 5
4 Texas A&M 19-2 655 4
6 Oklahoma 23-0 615 6
7 Northwestern 15-5 556 8
8 Texas 17-3 511 10
9 Michigan 20-1 478 13
10 LSU 21-3 470 7
11 Washington 15-2 430 15
12 UCLA 15-6 415 12
13 Stanford 16-5 411 9
14 Oregon State 11-7 363 11
15 Louisiana-Lafayette 20-4 334 14
16 Baylor 20-4 327 16
17 Oregon 20-2 234 22
18 Southern Illinois 14-3 190 20
19 Florida 18-8 184 17
20 Georgia Tech 20-3 157 24
21 Georgia 15-8 136 21
22 Illinois State 15-5 124 NR
23 California 13-9 112 18
24 N.C. State 14-6 65 NR
25 Florida State 12-7 44 19
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 40, Fresno State 26, Cal State Fullerton 24, Hawaii 24, DePaul 21, Houston 11, South Florida 8, Virginia Tech 5, UC Santa Barbara 4. Five others received one vote each.
Dropped out: No. 23 Nebraska, No. 25 Hawaii.
Note: Voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference. Records are as of Mar. 4. First-place votes are in parenthesis.
AROUND THE PAC-10 - TEAM NOTES
*courtesy of www.Pac-10.org
WASHINGTON heads into play this week with the Conference's longest winning streak, having taken their last seven games. The Huskies last two wins came against Top-10 opponent LSU, and vaulted UW into the Top-10 themselves (tied for 10th) for the first time this season, joining No. 2 ARIZONA and No. 6 ARIZONA STATE ... At this point, seven of the Conference's eight teams have been ranked in the Top-10 at one point, and No. 15 OREGON continues to put everyone on notice that it might soon be joining that group. The Ducks have won 20 of their last 21, and went 3-0 against ranked opponents in Hawai'i last week ... The Big XII will be a common Conference foe this week, as Arizona State and Washington face Missouri and Texas Tech in the Pac-10 vs. Big XII challenge in Tempe, Ariz., and Arizona travels to Waco, Texas to face No. 14 Baylor in a three-game series ... CALIFORNIA, Oregon, OREGON STATE, STANFORD and UCLA each travel their separate ways for tournaments this week.
THIS WEEK'S PAC-10 SCHEDULE
Tues., Mar. 6
Creighton at ARIZONA, 5 p.m. (DH)
Wed., Mar. 7
Creighton at ARIZONA STATE, 12 p.m.
Loyola Chicago at CALIFORNIA, 2 p.m.
OREGON STATE vs. Boston College, 12 p.m. (1)
OREGON STATE vs. Pacific, 2 p.m. (1)
UCLA at Cal State Fullerton, 6 p.m.
Thurs., Mar. 8
OREGON at UNLV, 5 p.m. (2) (DH)
OREGON STATE vs. Liberty, 4 p.m. (1)
OREGON STATE at Hawaii, 8 p.m. (1)
Fri., Mar. 9
ARIZONA at Baylor, 4:30 p.m.
Missouri at ARIZONA STATE, 5 p.m. (3)
Texas Tech at ARIZONA STATE, 7:30 p.m. (3)
CALIFORNIA vs. Iowa, 12:30 p.m. (4)
OREGON vs. New Mexico State, 1:30 p.m. (2)
OREGON vs. Miami (Ohio), 8:15 p.m. (2)
OREGON STATE vs. TBD, TBA (1)
UC Santa Barbara at STANFORD, 2 p.m. (5)
Sacramento State at STANFORD, 4 p.m. (5)
UCLA vs. Southern Utah, 2 p.m. (23)
UCLA vs. Eastern Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. (6)
WASHINGTON vs. Texas Tech, 12 p.m. (3)
WASHINGTON vs. Missouri, 2:30 p.m. (3)
Sat., Mar. 10
ARIZONA at Baylor, 12 p.m.
Texas Tech at ARIZONA STATE, 5 p.m. (3)
Missouri at ARIZONA STATE, 7:30 p.m. (3)
CALIFORNIA vs. Eastern Illinois, 10 a.m. (4)
CALIFORNIA vs. Iowa State, 12:30 p.m. (4)
OREGON vs. Longwood, 3:45 p.m. (2)
OREGON STATE vs. TBD, TBA (1)
San Diego State at STANFORD, 2 p.m. (5)
Loyola Chicago at STANFORD, 4 p.m. (5)
UCLA vs. Canisius, 3:45 p.m. (6)
UCLA at Long Beach State, 6 p.m. (6)
WASHINGTON vs. Missouri, 12 p.m. (3)
WASHINGTON vs. Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m. (3)
Sun., Mar. 11
ARIZONA at Baylor, 10 a.m.
ARIZONA STATE vs. TBD, TBA (3)
CALIFORNIA vs. Northern Iowa, 9 a.m. (4)
TBD at STANFORD, TBA (5)
UCLA vs. Notre Dame, 5 p.m. (6)
WASHINGTON vs. TBD, TBA (3)
Tournaments
(1) Hawaiian Airlines Spring Fling Tournament; Honolulu, Hawaii
(2) Eller Media Stadium Classic; Las Vegas, Nev.
(3) Pac-10 vs. Big XII Challenge; Tempe, Ariz.
(4) National Invitational Softball Tournament, San Jose, Calif.
(5) Stanford Classic; Stanford, Calif.
(6) Long Beach State Invitational; Lakewood, Calif.
all times pacific
LAST WEEK'S PAC-10 RESULTS
Tues., Feb. 27
#12/15 UCLA 5, Loyola-Marymount 2
Wed., Feb. 28
#18/18 CALIFORNIA 9, Santa Clara 4
Thurs., Mar. 1
#22/17 OREGON 5, #21/23 Georgia 0 (1)
#22/17 OREGON 7, #25/24 Hawaii 1 (1)
Fri., Mar. 2
#3/2 ARIZONA 5, Missouri 4
UC Santa Barbara 8, #4/2 ARIZONA STATE 7 (2)
#4/2 ARIZONA STATE 12, North Florida 9 (2)
Fresno State 2, #18/18 CALIFORNIA 1 (3)
#18/18 CALIFORNIA 14, Delaware State 6 (3)
#22/17 OREGON 1, Kent State 0 (8 inn.) (1)
Saint Mary's 2, #22/17 OREGON 1 (9 inn.) (1)
#11/13 OREGON STATE 3, Nevada 0 (4)
#11/13 OREGON STATE 4, Oklahoma State 0 (4)
Cal Poly 6, #9/8 STANFORD 2 (4)
Cal State Fullerton 1, #9/8 STANFORD 0 (4)
#12/15 UCLA 11, Long Beach State 0 (5 inn.) (5)
#RV/25 Illinois State 2, #12/15 UCLA 1 (5)
#15/14 WASHINGTON 15, Portland State 0 (5 inn.) (6)
Sat., Mar. 3
#3/2 ARIZONA 8, Missouri 1
#4/2 ARIZONA STATE 2, Houston 1 (2)
#4/2 ARIZONA STATE 6, North Florida 2 (2)
DePaul 2, #18/18 CALIFORNIA 1 (3)
#18/18 CALIFORNIA 5, UNLV 4 (3)
#22/17 OREGON 10, Saint Mary's 1 (1)
#11/13 OREGON STATE 7, Minnesota 0 (4)
#8/12 Northwestern 4, #11/13 OREGON STATE 0 (8 inn.) (4)
#9/8 STANFORD 2, Texas Tech 1 (4)
#8/12 Northwestern 11, #9/8 STANFORD 3 (6 inn.) (4)
#12/15 UCLA 3, Loyola Chicago 0 (5)
#12/15 UCLA 10, #17/20 Florida 2 (6 inn.) (5)
#15/14 WASHINGTON 3, #7/6 LSU 1 (9 inn.) (6)
Sun., Mar. 4
#3/2 ARIZONA 8, Missouri 7
#4/2 ARIZONA STATE 12, Utah Valley State 0 (5 inn.) (2)
#23/RV Nebraska 5, #18/18 CALIFORNIA 2 (8 inn.) (3)
#22/17 OREGON 6, #21/23 Georgia 0 (1)
Cal State Fullerton 1, #11/13 OREGON STATE 0 (4)
#9/8 STANFORD 6, Minnesota 3 (4)
#12/15 UCLA 9, Loyola Chicago 1 (5 inn.) (5)
#15/14 WASHINGTON 6, #7/6 LSU 3 (6)
Tournaments
(1) Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament; Honolulu, Hawaii
(2) Sun Devil Invitational; Tempe, Ariz.
(3) UNLV Invitational; Las Vegas, Nev.
(4) Worth Invitational; Fullerton, Calif.
(5) Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament; Los Angeles, Calif.
(6) Husky Softball Classic; Seattle, Wash.
- www.GoDucks.com -
