Ducks Set To Open Play At The Jane

Oregon Notes - Portland State, Boise State

Coming off of a 2-1 weekend in highlighted by a win over then-No. 1 UCLA, Oregon welcomes Portland State and Boise State to Jane Sanders Stadium for its home-opening weekend, Saturday and Sunday. This weekend kicks off a 16-game homestand for the Ducks, who will remain home for the entire month of March after beginning the year with three straight road trips. Oregon leads the all-time series with Portland State, 122-61, winning 18 straight meetings, while the Ducks own an 8-3 advantage with the Broncos, taking the last eight.
 
GAME INFO

 
DID YOU KNOW?
Reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week Brooke Yanez is the only pitcher in the country with at least 45 strikeouts in under 30 innings pitched this season.
 
BIG WEEKEND
Oregon passed a pair of nonconference tests against Pac-12 foes this past Sunday, sweeping a doubleheader against then top-ranked UCLA and Utah. The Ducks took down the Bruins, 3-1, behind a dominant effort in the circle by Brooke Yanez, while hitting a pair of key homers in the later innings before hanging on in the last. In game two of the twin bill, Oregon hit four homers from the fifth inning on to take down Utah, 7-2, and sweep the doubleheader. The Ducks dropped the rematch against UCLA on Monday, 9-3.
 
STRONG START
After last year's team got off to the second-best start in school history through 24 games, the Ducks have picked up where they left off, starting 9-1 through the first three weekends of the season. The Ducks won their first nine games of the season before falling to UCLA on March 1, making it back-to-back seasons and six times overall in program history that Oregon has started 9-0. In three seasons under head coach Melyssa Lombardi, the Ducks have made a habit of getting off to good starts, owning a 36-8 record in the month of February.
 
HONORS ROLL IN
Oregon has had numerous players rake in preseason and now in-season recognition from multiple different outlets. True freshman shortstop Alyssa Brito earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after hitting .571 with a pair of clutch homers at Fresno State. This past week, Brooke Yanez earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out 10 in a complete-game win over UCLA before fanning six to earn the save vs. Utah. Prior to the season, Haley Cruse and Yanez were both named to the preseason USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year watch list, while Brito was selected as D1Softball's preseason Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Cruse was also named a preseason second-team All-American by D1Softball while Terra McGowan, Rachel Cid, Samaria Diaz, Cruse and Yanez were all named among the top 25 players in their respective classes by Softball America.
 
NO FREE PASSES
Oregon's pitching staff has been among the best in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio over the first three weeks of the season. The Ducks currently rank fifth nationally with a 7.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio, recording 78 total strikeouts to just 11 walks this year. Additionally, Oregon pitching has surrendered two or fewer walks in each of the 10 games this year while all five pitchers are allowing fewer than three walks per seven innings.
 
CONTINUED DOMINANCE
After a strong opening weekend, Oregon pitching continued its dominant ways in the circle with four more dominant efforts against Fresno State on Feb. 20 and 21, then against UCLA and Utah on Feb. 28. Three Ducks pitchers combined to give up just five hits over 14 innings with 18 strikeouts to just two walks against the Bulldogs two weeks ago, before fanning 20 in a doubleheader sweep of the Bruins and Utes. Brooke Yanez turned in complete games in two of those games, striking out 12 at Fresno State and recording 10 strikeouts vs. UCLA. In the Fresno State game, she retired the final 17 batters she faced, while having a stretch of 11 straight batters retired against UCLA. Samaria Diaz also contributed seven innings of one-run ball in that stretch, striking out eight in the two outings while earning a save at Fresno State and a win vs. Utah.
 
RALLY WITH TWO
Oregon has done a bulk of its damage offensively with two outs over the first 10 games of the year. The Ducks have scored 39 of their 64 runs on the season with two outs in innings. In six of the 10 games, Oregon has scored over half of its runs with two gone in an inning, while scoring at least one two-out run in nine of the 10 games.
 
POWER SURGE
Over the last six games, Oregon has hit 12 home runs after having just one through the first four games of the year. The Ducks have went yard in each of the last six games, hitting multiple homers in four of those games highlighted by a season-high four against Utah on Feb. 28. The home run hitting has been spread out pretty evenly with eight different players homering with only three having multiple long-balls, led by Alyssa Brito's four.