Ducks Open Postseason Play vs. Texas State

Back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, Oregon heads down to Austin, Texas for an NCAA Regional hosted by No. 12 overall seed Texas. The Ducks are the No. 2 seed in the regional and will open play against No. 3 seed Texas State on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT on ESPN3. With a win, Oregon would play at 11 a.m. PT Saturday or with a loss, would fall into an elimination game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT. The Ducks won their only all-time meeting against Texas State, winning 7-1 in 2005.
 
GAME INFO
When: Friday, May 21
Opponent: Texas State
Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Austin, Texas (McCombs Field)
Live Stream: ESPN3 (PxP; Kevin Brown; Analyst: Amanda Scarborough)
Radio: KWVA 88.1 FM (PxP: Jordan Brenner)
Watch Online: https://www.espn.com/watch/
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Oregon leadoff hitter Haley Cruse currently ranks in the top 10 of the Pac-12 in six major offensive stat categories and owns a .511 OBP when leading off an inning.
 
POSTSEASON SUCCESS
Oregon is making its 21st all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and has enjoyed major postseason success over the last decade, highlighted by an impressive record in NCAA Regional play. The Ducks are 52-21 all-time and have won 27 straight games in the regional round dating back to 2010. Oregon has advanced to a Super Regional in each of its last nine tournament appearances and has gone to the WCWS a total of six times.
 
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Oregon pitching has racked up the strikeouts at a high rate this season. The Ducks are sixth in the nation with 425 strikeouts and are the only team in the country with three players in the top 40 in strikeouts per seven innings. Brooke Yanez, Makenna Kliethermes and Samaria Diaz are all averaging at least 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings.
 
FINDING WAYS TO WIN
Oregon has made a habit of winning close games this season. The Ducks are 21-7 this year in games decided by three runs or less, and are 7-1 in games decided by one run. Oregon has also won 10 times in games in which it has trailed, while winning nine games when either tied or trailing after four innings. The Ducks have outscored their opponents 93-54 from the fifth inning on this season. Additionally, 10 of Oregon's last 12 games have been decided by three runs or less.
 
SWEEPING FINISH
Oregon ended the regular season with a four-game road sweep against California. The Ducks never trailed once all weekend on the way to their first conference road sweep since 2018, when they took three straight from the Bears. Brooke Yanez led the way in the circle once again, dominating over 13.2 innings pitched with 20 strikeouts to just four walks and a 0.51 ERA. She tossed her sixth shutout of the season in a win in game one, striking out 12 while scattering four hits before picking up the win in game two after throwing 3.2 innings out of the bullpen with six strikeouts. Rachel Cid paced the Oregon offense, hitting .583 with five RBIs and a .643 OBP over the four games, posting three straight multi-hit games to end the series. She went 7-for-9 and reached base in eight of her 10 plate appearances in the last three games at Cal while all five of her RBIs over the weekend came with two outs.
 
ROLLIN' IN REGIONALS 
Oregon has had massive success in the NCAA Regional round over the last decade. The Ducks have won 27 straight games in an NCAA Regional dating back to 2010, with the last loss coming in 2008 against Oklahoma. Oregon got it done on the road in 2010 and 2011 to start the impressive streak, advancing to Super Regionals after sweeping through weekends at Georgia Tech in 2010 and Penn State in 2011. In each of the Ducks' seven regional appearances since then, they have hosted the opening weekend of games and gotten through unscathed. Oregon has also won at least one game in regionals in 20 of its 21 appearances and has advanced beyond the regional round 10 times - moving on to a Super Regional nine times and going straight to the WCWS once.
 
LIGHTS OUT
Left-handed pitcher Brooke Yanez has dominated in the circle over the last two weeks. She was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week following each of the final two weeks of the season and took home NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors after a dominant weekend against Arizona. Yanez has recorded 44 strikeouts to just five walks while posting a 0.43 ERA over 32.1 inningswith a 4-0 record over that span. Two weekends ago, she shut down an Arizona offense that went into that weekend leading the conference in hitting, posting a 0.38 ERA with 24 strikeouts and just one walk over 18.2 innings. She went the distance in her two starts in games one and two of the series, striking out eight in a complete game win on Friday before tossing a four-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and no walks Saturday. Against Cal, Yanez struck out 20 batters over 13.2 innings with a 0,51 ERA.
 
SWING & MISS STUFF
Oregon is currently the only team in the country to have three players rank in the top 40 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings. As a staff, the Ducks are second in the conference with 8.80 strikeouts per seven innings while Oregon is the only team with three players in the top 10 of the Pac-12 in strikeout rate. The Ducks are also sixth nationally in total strikeouts with 425 on the season while the strikeout total is good for the sixth most in a season in program history.
 
TABLE SETTER
Oregon leadoff batter Haley Cruse has set the tone all season for the Ducks' offense. She has an on-base percentage of .511 when leading off an inning, while the Ducks are 26-5 on the season in games where she scores a run. Cruse has also had a hand in nearly a quarter of the team's runs this year, scoring or driving in 60 of the team's 256 on the year, or 23.4 percent. She currently leads the team in seven different offensive categories and ended the regular season ranked in the top 10 of the Pac-12 in six of the major offensive stat categories.
 
RALLY WITH TWO
Oregon has done a lot of its damage offensively with two outs this year. The Ducks have scored 124 of their 256 runs on the season with two outs in innings. In 24 of the 52 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 40 of the 52 games. The Ducks are also hitting .304 as a team with two outs - 13 points higher than the overall team batting average.