Scouting Softball: No. 3 Ducks Attempt a Sweep Over State of Arizona

(This is a weekly series focused on recapping, previewing and discussing Oregon Softball. This article will be updated throughout the week after each game. Feel free to use this as a game thread for the upcoming series against the Sun Devils.)

The Oregon Ducks (32-6) will head down to Tempe in their second straight top 10 matchup. Last week, the Ducks tamed the Wildcats by sweeping them. The Arizona Wildcats came to Eugene ranked 9th in the country and 4th in the PAC-12. Oregon outscored Arizona 23-2 in their three-game homestand. Miranda Elish and Megan Kleist made their case for best pitching duo in the country, while Shannon Rhodes and Gwen Svekis can apparently score against damn near anybody,

DUCKS SWEEP WILDCATS

The first game of the series proved to be the most dramatic as the Duck’s Megan Kleist and the Wildcat’s Taylor McQuillin dueled their way to a 1-1 ballgame at the top of the sixth. Gwen Svekis struck first with a solo homer in the second inning. The Wildcats tied it up four innings later due to a Duck error. Svekis gave her team some breathing room by smashing another homer, this time with Alexis Mack and Mary Iakopo on first and second.

Shannon Rhodes added some insurance by following up with a solo home run, and although the Wildcats scored again with two two-out doubles in the seventh, Megan Kleist finished strong and earned the win.

The final two games were not as competitive. Megan Kleist and Miranda Elish had a combined 25 strikeouts, 12 scoreless endings, two walks, and a 0.00 ERA. Saturday’s game was delayed after five innings with a score of 5-0 in the Ducks favor. The next day, Oregon came back to score three more runs in the sixth and finish the game 8-0 with a run-rule victory. Then, a short time after, Oregon once again won via run-rule, 10-0.

TOP 25

The Conference of Champions continues its dominant season by placing six of its nine teams in the top 25. This would normally be great news if it weren't for the fact that the huskies are No. 1 in the PAC and the Nation, which means No. 3 Oregon’s trip to Seattle at the end of the month will have an impact on the top spot of the conference standings as well as the College World Series.

No. 4 UCLA is the third PAC-12 team in the top five. Oregon’s next opponent, the No. 7 ASU Sun Devils, will be the second straight top ten opponent for the Ducks. After failing to win a single game in Eugene, then-No. 9 Arizona has fallen to No. 12. Meanwhile, the California Golden Bears are bottoming out in impressive fashion; sitting at the bottom of the conference standings as well as the bottom of the top 25.

UP NEXT: No. 7 ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

• The ASU Sun Devils are 33-5 and 7-2 in conference play.
• Their most impressive wins are against No. 23 Mississippi State, and a series win against No. 1 Washington, No. 25 California, and Oregon State.
• Their most notable losses are against No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 10 Tennessee.
• ASU averages 1.13 homers a game- 12th in the nation.
• The Sun Devils will look to surpass their win total from last year with a win over the Ducks.
• ASU averages 5.87 runs per game.
• They are coming off a 15 inning game against the Beavers in which two-time PAC-12 Pitcher of the week G Juarez had 15 strikeouts in 15 innings played.

PAC-12 STANDINGS

1 Washington (10-2) 39-2

2 Arizona State (7-2) 33-5

3 Oregon (7-2) 32-6

4 UCLA (9-3) 34-3

5 Arizona (6-6) 27-9

6 Oregon State (4-8) 21-17

7 Stanford (2-7) 21-16

8 Utah (2-10) 18-18

9 California (1-8) 26-11

Friday, 4/13, 7PM, Tempe, ASU Live Stream

Saturday, 4/14, 6 PM, Tempe, ASU Live Stream

Sunday, 4/15, 12PM, Tempe, ASU Live Stream