Notes: No. 1 Ducks Meet No. 10 Bruins in Los Angeles
EUGENE, Ore. - The newly minted No. 1 ranked and first place Oregon softball team meets No. 10 ranked and second place UCLA this weekend for a three-game conference series in Los Angeles.
The Ducks and Bruins meet on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks. The series finale is on Sunday at noon on ESPN2.
BROADCAST INFO
All three games against the Bruins will be televised live, with the first two on Pac-12 Networks and the finale on ESPN2. The games can be streamed online and on mobile devices with a cable TV login on the Pac-12 Now app and the WatchESPN app. Live stats will be available on www.uclabruins.com.
#1 OREGON DUCKS (30-4, 8-1 Pac-12)
Team BA: .369 | Team ERA: 2.26 | Runs Scored: 264 | Runs Allowed: 97
Recently: Oregon won a series with No. 19 Washington, 2-1
National Rankings: Oregon is ranked No. 1 in both the NFCA & USA Softball polls
All-Time UCLA Series Record: UO trails, 74-20 (Ducks have won 4 straight series)
Last Meeting: No. 1 UCLA beat No. 3 Oregon, 6-1 (4/6/14 in Eugene)
#10 UCLA BRUINS (30-6, 5-1 Pac-12)
Team BA: .360 | Team ERA: 1.88 | Runs Scored: 271 | Runs Allowed: 82
Recently: UCLA had last weekend off
National Rankings: UCLA is No. 10 in the NFCA poll, No. 8 in the USA Softball poll
Head Coach: Kelly Inouye-Perez (Ninth Season)
LAST WEEKEND
The Ducks won four of five games played last week, including a series win over Washington. Oregon took down Utah Valley in a doubleheader Wednesday before winning the first and third games in the series against Washington. Cheridan Hawkins threw her first career perfect game in Friday’s series opener before the Ducks belted out a program record eight home runs in Sunday’s finale.
BATS GO BOOM VS. WASHINGTON
Oregon belted out a school record eight home runs in a 15-6 run-rule win over then No. 19 ranked Washington on March 29. Jenna Lilley hit a two-run shot in the first inning and Geri Ann Glasco hit a solo homer in the second before the Ducks exploded for five homers in the third inning, matching the NCAA record. Hailey Decker hit a two-run shot to start the home run derby followed by a two-run shot by Glasco, her second of the day. After a pitching change, Janelle Lindvall went back-to-back with a solo shot. Nikki Udria hit her first home run of the season next, a two-run laser to right. Decker, who homered to start the inning, came up two batters later and crushed a three-run blast off the foul pole in left. Glasco led off the fourth with a solo shot, her third homer of the game and the eighth total for the Ducks.
DUCKS MATCH NCAA HOME RUN RECORD
While Oregon’s eight home runs on March 29 against then-No. 19 Washington broke the program single-game record, the Ducks’ five home runs in the third inning tied the NCAA mark for bombs in an inning. Oregon is the seventh team in collegiate softball history to hit five home runs in one inning.
HAWKINS IS PERFECT
In an 8-0 run-rule win over then-No. 19 Washington on March 27, junior Cheridan Hawkins tossed her first career perfect game. Hawkins retired all 15 batters she faced on just 56 pitches with three strikeouts. It was Hawkins’ fifth career no-hitter and second this season. Her five no-hitters are the most in UO history. It was the first perfect game thrown by a Duck since Jessica Moore against Arizona in 2013. Moore had her perfect game against the Wildcats the day after freshman Hawkins tossed her first career no-hitter in a win over the Wildcats.
HAWKINS, GLASCO EARN WEEKLY AWARDS
After leading the Ducks at the dish and in the circle, Geri Ann Glasco and Cheridan Hawkins were named Pac-12 player and pitcher of the week. Hawkins (Anderson, Calif.) threw her first-career perfect game and the first for the Ducks since 2013 when she blanked No. 19 Washington on Friday in the series opener. Hawkins tallied three strikeouts and three just 56 pitches in the five-inning, 8-0 victory for UO. The junior started the third game of the series as well, pitching 4.2 innings to pick up the win and improve to 15-2. She struck out six and allowed two runs on five hits, marking the first two earned runs she’s allowed in Pac-12 play and her first since March 8. Hawkins now has a 0.43 ERA on the year with 122 strikeouts in 97 innings. Glasco (Watkinsville, Ga.) hit a monstrous .800 clip with a 2.100 slugging percentage and a .857 on-base percentage as the Ducks went 4-1 on the week. The junior posted eight hits in 10 at-bats, scoring five runs and driving in six with four home runs and a double in the five games. Three of her four homers came in the series finale against the Huskies, matching the UO single-game record shared by two other players. Glasco had three multi-hit games, once in the doubleheader against Utah Valley then twice against UW.
GLASCO USA SOFTBALL NATIONAL POTW
A day after being named Pac-12 player of the week, Geri Ann Glasco was honored by USA Softball as its national player of the week. Glasco won the award once before, as a freshman at Georgia. It is the second time an Oregon player has won it this year (Jenna Lilley).
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
With four Pac-12 player of the week awards already, the Ducks have broke the record for most in any season in program history. Oregon had two last year and the year before when winning back-to-back Pac-12 titles.
Week 1 Jenna Lilley (Pac-12 Player)
Week 1 Cheridan Hawkins (Pac-12 Pitcher)
Week 3 Jenna Lilley (Pac-12 Player)
Week 3 Jenna Lilley (NFCA National Player)
Week 3 Jenna Lilley (USA Softball National Player)
Week 3 Cheridan Hawkins (NFCA National Pitcher)
Week 6 Koral Costa (Pac-12 Player)
Week 6 Gwen Svekis (Pac-12 Freshman)
Week 7 Cheridan Hawkins (Pac-12 Pitcher)
Week 8 Geri Ann Glasco (Pac-12 Player)
Week 8 Geri Ann Glasco (USA Softball National Player)
Week 8 Cheridan Hawkins (Pac-12 Pitcher)
WALK THIS WAY
Since starting Pac-12 play on March 13 against the Beavers, Oregon hitters have drawn 70 walks in 11 games (OSU series, Utah series, Utah Valley DH, Washington series). The Ducks had a school record 13 walks against Oregon State on March 15 and nearly matched that with 12 at Utah on March 23. Oregon took 11 more walks in the second game against Utah Valley on March 25. On the flipside, Oregon pitchers have issued 62 walks all season.
WHEN PLAYING UCLA
- UCLA leads the all-time series, 74-20
- Eight of Oregon’s 20 wins all-time against UCLA have come under head coach Mike White. He is 8-7 in his career against the Bruins.
- Oregon has won four series in a row against UCLA, taking two games out of three in each one (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
- Only once in that 12-game stretch was a game decided by run-rule. Last season the Ducks beat the Bruins, 12-4, in five innings in the second game of the series.
- Both teams have been ranked in the top-20 in each of the last four meeting.
- Prior to winning the series against the Bruins in 2011, the Ducks had lost 15 straight games to UCLA.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE BRUINS
- The Ducks took the first two games of the series against No. 1 UCLA, 9-7 and 12-4 (5), before falling in the finale, 6-1.
- UCLA was No. 1 in the nation and the Ducks were No. 3 last year. After the series win, Oregon moved to No. 1 in the polls for the first time in program history.
- Janelle Lindvall hit .500 against the Bruins last year with a homer and five RBIs in three games.
- The Bruins were able to hit Cheridan Hawkins better than most last season, as Hawkins went 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in the series. She allowed 12 hits and six walks in 11.2 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts. Karissa Hovinga has a 4.42 ERA in the series in 6.1 innings pitched. Jasmine Smithson-Willett threw one inning with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts.
- The Ducks hit four home runs in the series while the Bruins hit six. UCLA hitters drew 12 walks compared to five for Oregon. UO made three errors in the series while UCLA made six.
HITTING TEAM NOTES
- The Ducks rank third in the nation and lead the Pac-12 with a .369 batting average.
- Oregon hit a school record .342 as a team last year.
- UO’s .465 on-base percentage is third in the nation and leads the Pac-12.
- Oregon’s .620 slugging percentage is seventh best in the nation and leads the Pac-12. The number jumped from .591 to .620 after Oregon’s power surge against Washington last weekend.
- The Ducks lead the Pac-12 with 68 stolen bases. Second place is Washington, with 48. The Ducks have only been caught stealing 10 times. UCLA has been caught 14 times, the most in the conference.
- Oregon ranks 13th in the nation, averaging 2.0 stolen bases per game.
- Oregon leads the Pac-12 with 13 triples.
- Oregon has had the fewest at-bats in the league, 908.
HITTING INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Freshman Gwen Svekis ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with a .451 batting average.
- Svekis leads the league with a ridiculous .902 slugging percentage. Koral Costa is eighth with a .750 slugging percentage.
- Jenna Lilley is seventh in the league, with a .516 on-base percentage.
- Janie Takeda leads the Pac-12 with 26 stolen bases. She is 26-for-27 on the season. Second best in the league is just 13. Takeda has 93 career stolen bases, just three away from matching the UO record of 96, currently owned by Sari-Jane Jenkins (see page four).
PITCHING TEAM NOTES
- The Ducks rank 22nd in the NCAA and are second best in the Pac-12 with a 2.26 team ERA. UCLA is first.
- UO’s .205 opponent batting average is also second in the Pac-12, behind UCLA.
- The Ducks are second in the league with 222 strikeouts despite having pitched the second fewest number of innings, 211.0. Washington has thrown a league-high 255.2 innings this season.
- Oregon pitchers have allowed just 162 hits this season, the fewest in the conference. UCLA is second at 171.
- Oregon has also issued the fewest number of walks in the conference at 62. UCLA has issued 104 free passes this season.
- The Ducks have hit 30 batters, the most in the Pac-12.
- Oregon opened the season with three straight shutouts (8-0 vs. Cal Poly, 9-0 vs. #25 Texas and 8-0 vs. Northwestern).
PITCHING INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Cheridan Hawkins leads the nation in ERA (0.43) and is second in hits allowed per seven innings (2.89). ULL hurler Jordan Wallace leads the NCAA in hits allowed per seven innings (2.69). The Ducks and Ragin’ Cajuns meet later this year for a three-game non-conference series in Eugene.
- Hawkins leads the nation with six saves. She is tied with two other players.
- Hawkins is fifth in the nation with six shutouts. UCLA’s Ally Carda leads the nation with seven shutouts.
FIELDING NOTES
- Oregon’s .961 fielding percentage ranks 115th in the NCAA and seventh in the Pac-12.
- However, Oregon’s made 34 errors this season, the fourth fewest in the conference. Oregon State has made a league-high 49 errors on the year.
