Rivalry Series On Deck for No. 3 Ducks

Currently on a 14-game winning streak, No. 3 Oregon will jump back into conference play with a road series against rival Oregon State, Thursday through Saturday The Ducks will play one game Thursday at 4 p.m. followed by a doubleheader Friday at 2 and 4:30 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend with a single game Saturday at 5 p.m. Oregon State leads the rivalry series 95-94-1, however Oregon has won 18 of the last 22 matchups, including a 14-6 nonconference win earlier this year.
 
GAME INFO

 
DID YOU KNOW?
Haley Cruse is currently the only player in the country hitting over .400 with at least 13 stolen bases and a .700 slugging pct.
 
DOMINANT WEEKEND
Oregon took care of business against Loyola Marymount this past weekend with a dominant effort all-around in a sweep. The Ducks' offense exploded for 14 runs in game one before Makenna Kliethermes tossed the 34th no-hitter in program history in game two Friday. She became just the fourth Oregon pitcher to toss a no-hitter with at least 15 strikeouts. Oregon closed the series with another shutout on Saturday in a 6-0 win.
 
ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE
Oregon has gotten it done both at the plate and in the circle once again this year, and is currently one of just five teams to rank in the top 20 nationally in batting average and ERA. The Ducks are ninth in the country hitting .346 while ranking 20th in the NCAA with a 1.62 ERA. Oregon joins Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and UCLA as the only teams to have achieved that feat this year.
 
WINNING WAYS
Over the last two seasons, Oregon has showed that it once again is among the top programs in the country. The Ducks are 45-3 since the start of the 2020 season, good for the second best winning percentage in the country over that stretch. Oregon also has now had three separate winning streaks of 14-plus games since the beginning of last year under head coach Melyssa Lombardi, including the team's current 14-game stretch. Only UCLA has a higher win percentage than the Ducks over the last two seasons, while they are ahead of other perennial powerhouses in Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.
 
ALL THE ANSWERS
Oregon's pitching staff hasn't allowed many runs this year, but when it has, the offense has provided the answer more often than not. The Ducks have scored a run in the half inning after their opponents scored 14 times in the 26 innings the pitching staff has surrendered a run. Oregon also has responded with at least one run in 10 of the last 11 innings in which it has given one up.
 
SWING & MISS STUFF
Oregon is currently one of just two teams nationally (Oklahoma) to have three pitchers averaging at least nine strikeouts per seven innings. As a staff, the Ducks are third in the conference with 9.46 strikeouts per seven innings while two Oregon pitchers are averaging double-digit strikeouts per seven innings. Makenna Kliethermes is fifth in the nation and second in the Pac-12 with 12.83 strikeouts per seven innings while Brooke Yanez is fourth in the league and 24th nationally with 10.50 and Samaria Diaz is at 9.07 and seventh in the Pac-12.
 
NO FREE PASSES
Oregon's pitching staff has been among the best in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio over the first seven weeks of the season. The Ducks currently lead the Pac-12 and rank fourth nationally with a 6.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio, recording 204 total strikeouts to just 30 walks this year. Additionally, Oregon has allowed the sixth-fewest walks per game in the country this year while all five pitchers are allowing fewer than 1.6 walks per seven innings.
 
NO NO NO, NOT TODAY
Makenna Kliethermes tossed the 34th no-hitter in program history with a dominant 15-strikeout effort over seven innings in a 3-0 win over Loyola Marymount on March 26. She is just the fourth pitcher in Oregon history to strike out at least 15 batters in a no-hitter, joining Miranda Elish (4/3/2018), Cheridan Hawkins (5/1/2013) and Ani Nyhus (3/27/2004). Kliethermes' 15 strikeouts also ranks tied for eighth in a single game in program history while the no-hitter was the first seven-inning no-no by a Duck pitcher since Jordan Dail threw one vs. Pacific on March 27, 2019.
 
RALLY WITH TWO
Oregon has done a lot of its damage offensively with two outs over the first 24 games of the year. The Ducks have scored 89 of their 173 runs on the season with two outs in innings. In 14 of the 24 games, Oregon has scored at least half of its runs with two gone in an inning, while scoring at least one two-out run in 23 of the 24 games. The Ducks are also hitting .382 as a team with two outs - 36 points higher than the overall team batting average.
 
CAN'T TEACH CLUTCH
In addition to the potent two-out offense, Oregon's hitters have also upped their production in clutch situations so far this season. The Ducks are hitting .390 with runners in scoring position - 44 points higher than the overall team batting average - while batting .366 with runners on and .345 with the bases loaded. Three Oregon players are hitting over .400 on the season with runners in scoring position (Terra McGowan - .542, Alyssa Brito - .519, Allee Bunker - .471).