Eugene Dealt Four Aces For Regional
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Oregon softball fans have become accustomed to seeing great pitching at Howe Field, thanks to the efforts of junior left-hander Cheridan Hawkins.
Arguably the best pitcher in the country, Hawkins helped the Ducks (46-6) earn the No. 2 overall seed into the postseason, and the right to host an NCAA Regional. And while Hawkins will be the fan favorite when the regional begins, she’ll be far from the only elite pitcher on hand.
The regional opens with North Dakota State facing Fresno State on Thursday at 2 p.m., followed by Oregon against BYU at 5 p.m. Each of the four teams boasts a pitcher ranked in the top 13 of the nation for wins, the top 27 for strikeouts and the top 48 in ERA. Not only does the Eugene Regional hold the distinction of being one of the few with four league champions, it also features more than its fair share of shutdown pitching.
Fans of the host team will have reason to arrive in time for Thursday’s opening game. North Dakota State’s ace, senior Krista Menke, is fifth in the country in wins (32) and second in strikeouts (362). Her counterpart from Fresno State, junior Jill Compton, is 28-10 with 235 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.10 – No. 48 in the NCAA yet also the highest among the four primary starters on hand at Howe Field this week.
Hawkins leads the field of four aces with the lowest ERA (1.39) and batting average against (.140) and the most shutouts (nine). At 27-3 with 224 strikeouts, she has the fewest wins and K’s, though the highest strikeouts per seven innings.
BYU sophomore McKenna Bull will presumably be in the circle to face Hawkins and the Ducks on Thursday. Bull leads the NCAA with 34 wins, against seven losses, and has 238 strikeouts and eight shutouts along with an ERA of 1.96.
If pitching is the great equalizer in college softball, then all four teams in Eugene this week have a fighting chance.
Hawkins beat BYU a year ago, allowing two runs over seven innings and striking out eight in a 3-2 victory at a preseason tournament. The Ducks and Cougars met again later in the season, and BYU won at home thanks to six unearned runs.
Bull earned the win in that second game, allowing four runs – three earned – over 6 1/3 innings. She threw five innings of one-run relief in BYU’s loss to the Ducks earlier in the season, striking out seven against one walk.
BYU played and lost in regionals at Oregon in 2012 and 2013, games pitched by Jess Moore for the Ducks. This year the Cougars enter the tournament at 39-12 and champions of the West Coast Conference; their RPI of 60 is second-highest among the No. 4 seeds at the 16 regional sites this week.
Fresno State (40-14) won the Mountain West Conference, and is back in the tournament for the first time since a 30-year streak of appearances was broken three years ago. North Dakota State (43-9) won the Summit League, and is in the postseason for the sixth time in seven years.
That’s a lot of success coming to Eugene for this week’s regional – and a lot of successful pitching.
