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(This is a weekly series focused on previewing and discussing Oregon Softball. Feel free to use this as a game thread for the upcoming series against the Stanford Cardinal as well as this Thursday’s top 3 match-up between the Ducks and the Oklahoma Sooners.)
The Oregon Ducks(34-7-0, 9-3) leave the state of Arizona victorious. They outscored their opponents, 37-7, and won five of their six games against then-top-ten opponents. Up next for the Ducks, is the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (38-2) in a one-off top five match-up in Eugene. Then, PAC-12 play continues when the Stanford Cardinal (22-20) visit Eugene.
But enough about the future, lets revisit the past...
DUCKS DEFEAT SUN DEVILS
After sweeping their in-state rival the week before, the Oregon Ducks took it to the Sun Devils in the first two games of the series. The extreme winds of Tempe were kind to the Ducks in game one, as every hit seemed to either turn into a pop fly or a homer. Game two was much more clinical; Oregon hit a grand total of six home runs and Miranda Elish struck out 12 to clinch the series against the then-No. 7 Sun Devils.
The third game saw none of the Ducks offensive firepower from the previous games, and Arizona State took the final game. 4-0. Although, the Ducks left Tempe the clear victors, the loss still holds significance in a conference race that remains close at the top. Their loss is likely the main reason UCLA leapfrogged the Ducks in the top 25 standings.
UP NEXT: No. 2 OKLAHOMA SOONERS
- Oklahoma’s 39-2 record is the best start in Sooners’ history.
- The Sooners are two-time defending national champions, and eliminated the Ducks from the College World Series last year.
- They have the longest active win streak in the country at 30.
- They have won 37 straight road games.
- The No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners are hitting .339 as a team and an ERA of 1.02
- Their most impressive wins are a series sweep against No. 21 Baylor, No. 12 South Carolina, and No. 8 Arizona State.
- Their worst losses were against Boston University. and No. 13 Arizona.
- This season Oregon and Oklahoma share three common opponents: Arizona, Arizona State and the Japanese National Team. Both teams beat the Sun Devils, Arizona lost to Oregon but beat Oklahoma, and the Japanese National Team beat the Ducks bad while the Sooners were able to hold them to a tie.
SERIES VERSUS STANFORD
- The Stanford Cardinal are coming off a four game losing streak, which includes a Beavers sweep and a loss to Pacific.
- The Cardinal are tied with Utah and Oregon State for dead last in the PAC in runs scored (183).
- They’ve only mustered 10 home runs this season.
- Their best win is against No. 3 UCLA, and BYU.
- The Stanford Cardinal has exactly one fan who cares even a little bit about sports, but prefers golf due to the lack of athleticism the sport flaunts.
- Their worst losses involve being swept by Oregon State and No. 1 Washington, series losses against Utah and No. 3 UCLA, and one-off losses against BYU and Seattle U.
TOP 25
The world continues to deliver cruel jokes. Although the No. 4 Oregon Ducks have remained in the top five nearly all season, the No. 1 Washington huskies still claim the top spot in the nation. The only other teams ahead of the Ducks are the previously mentioned No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 3 UCLA Bruins, who Oregon beat twice this season.
The other PAC-12 teams in the top 25 are the two Arizona schools. Both of them fell a few spots after their Oregon losses; Arizona State fell from No. 7 to No. 8 after losing to the Ducks last week, and Arizona fell from No. 9 to No. 13 after playing Oregon - though being swept by UCLA since then also added to their recent plummet in the standings.
PAC-12 STANDINGS
1 Washington (12-2) 41-2
2 UCLA (12-3) 37 - 3
3 OREGON (9-3) 34- 7
4 ARIZONA STATE (8-4) 34 - 7
5 OREGON STATE (7-8) 26-17
6 ARIZONA (6-9) 29-12
7 STANFORD (2-10) 22 - 20
8 UTAH (2-10) 20 - 19
9 CALIFORNIA (1-10) 26 - 13
OKLAHOMA SOONERS - THURSDAY, 4/19, 4 PM, EUGENE, PAC-12 NETWORKS
STANFORD CARDINAL - FRIDAY, 4/20, 6 PM, EUGENE, PAC-12 PLUS LIVE STREAM
STANFORD CARDINAL - SATURDAY, 4/21, 5 PM, EUGENE, PAC-12 PLUS LIVE STREAM
STANFORD CARDINAL - SUNDAY, 4/22, 12 PM, EUGENE, PAC-12 PLUS LIVE STREAM