Ducks Head to the Desert For Top-15 Matchup

Oregon heads back on the road for yet another series against a top-15 opponent when it opens a four-game set at No. 12 Arizona State Friday in Tempe. The Sun Devils are the third top-15 conference opponent the eighth-ranked Ducks will have played in the last four weekends as they look to secure some resume-building wins after going 4-8 over the last three weeks. ASU leads the all-time series, 60-50-1, but Oregon has won 13 of the last 18 matchups going back to 2014.
 
GAME INFO

 
DID YOU KNOW?
Oregon shortstop Alyssa Brito currently leads Pac-12 true freshmen in batting average, home runs and RBIs while owns a .976 fielding percentage with just two errors all season.
 
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Oregon pitching has racked up the strikeouts at a high rate this season. The Ducks are seventh in the nation with 324 strikeouts and join Oklahoma as one of just two teams in the country with three players in the top 50 in strikeouts per seven innings. Brooke Yanez, Makenna Kliethermes and Samaria Diaz are all averaging at least 8.7 strikeouts per seven innings and are in the top 50 in strikeout rate.
 
BRINGING THE POP
Oregon's offense has been led by a trio of players hitting at least .370, with Haley Cruse, Alyssa Brito and Allee Bunker all at that mark or better and in the top 12 of the Pac-12. Cruse is seventh in the league hitting .382 while Brito is right behind in eighth batting .381 to lead all true freshmen in the conference in that category. Bunker is 12th at .370 to make the Ducks one of three teams in the Pac-12 with three players hitting at least .370.
 
FINDING WAYS TO WIN
Oregon has made a habit of winning close games this season. The Ducks are 15-3 this year in games decided by three runs or less, and are 4-0 in games decided by one run. Oregon has also won eight times in games in which it has trailed, while winning six games when either tied or trailing after four innings. The Ducks have outscored their opponents 73-39 from the fifth inning on this season.
 
SO MANY OPTIONS
Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi again has numerous options at her disposal when it comes to the starting lineup. The Ducks have used a different starting combination both in the batting order in 35 of the 40 games this year while using 31 different starting combinations on defense. No Oregon player has started each game in the same spot in the lineup, while only Rachel Cid has started at the same position defensively in each of the 40.
 
NO FREE PASSES
Oregon's pitching staff has been among the best in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio over the first 11 weeks of the season. The Ducks are currently seventh nationally and second in the Pac-12 with a 4.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio, recording 324 total strikeouts to 72 walks this year. Oregon is one of just seven teams nationally with a K-BB ratio of at least 4.50, joining UCLA, Michigan, North Texas, George Washington, Fresno State and Virginia Tech.
 
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Oregon has put together a number of big innings this season, scoring at least five runs in an inning 12 times this season. The Ducks have gotten multiple runs in over half of the innings in which they have plated a run, putting up a crooked number in 48 of the 93 innings this season in which they have scored. Oregon's monster innings are highlighted by a season-high of nine runs scored in an inning in the bottom of the first against Portland State on March 7.
 
RALLY WITH TWO
Oregon has done a lot of its damage offensively with two outs over the first 40 games of the year. The Ducks have scored 107 of their 215 runs on the season with two outs in innings. In 20 of the 40 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 32 of the 40 games. The Ducks are also hitting .334 as a team with two outs - 29 points higher than the overall team batting average.
 
PRODUCING AGAINST THE PAC
A trio of Oregon players have done some major damage over the 24 games this season against Pac-12 opponents - regardless of whether the games were considered conference or nonconference. Mya Felder, Allee Bunker and Haley Cruse are all batting at least .375 on the season against Pac-12 opponents with the three of them combining to hit .378 in those games. Additionally, all three are reaching base at a clip of at least .400.