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University of Oregon Athletics

Friday, April 21
Tucson, Ariz.
5:00 PM

University of Oregon

at

Arizona

Nikki Udria homer celebration at home plate vs. Washington 2017
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

Notes: No. 6 Ducks visit No. 3 Arizona in Big Pac-12 Series

04/19/17 | Softball

The No. 6 ranked Oregon softball team visits No. 3 Arizona this weekend in a pivotal Pac-12 series.

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 6 ranked Oregon softball team visits No. 3 Arizona this weekend in a pivotal three-game Pac-12 series. 

BROADCAST INFO
- All three of Oregon's games at Arizona will be broadcast live on TV. Friday's series opener will be on Pac-12 National, Pac-12 Oregon and Pac-12 Arizona. ESPN2 will air both the Saturday and Sunday games. 
- KWVA 88.1 FM will broadcast all three games as well.  
- Live stats for all three games are available at arizonawildcats.com. 

#6 OREGON DUCKS (37-4, 10-4 Pac-12)
Team BA: .331  |  Team ERA: 1.21  |  Runs Scored: 272  |  Runs Allowed: 61
Recently: Dropped a series, 2-1, vs. Washington over the weekend in Eugene
National Rankings: The Ducks are No. 6 in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls.
All-Time Series: Oregon trails Arizona, 82-28 (Ducks have won six straight series)
Last Year: Oregon blanked Arizona in all three games of a series sweep in Eugene
Notable: The Ducks started the season 35-0 and were the last undefeated team in the NCAA. Despite having just four losses, Oregon is looking to bounce back from series losses to UCLA and Washington. Oregon's pitching staff has been fantastic all season long. The Ducks rank fourth in the NCAA with a combined 1.21 ERA  while fabulous freshman, Maggie Balint, is sixth in the NCAA individually with a 0.86 ERA. Balint also ranks No. 24 in the country, averaging 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings. On offense, senior SS Nikki Udria is leading the Ducks and ranks second in the Pac-12 with a .434 batting average. 

#3 ARIZONA WILDCATS (43-3, 13-2 Pac-12)
Team BA: .350  |  Team ERA: 1.01  |  Runs Scored: 368  |  Runs Allowed: 50 
Recently: Dropped 2-of-3 at Utah last weekend but swept a doubleheader with New Mexico State on Tuesday
National Rankings: Arizona ranks No. 3 in the NFCA poll and No. 2 in the USA Softball poll
Head Coach: Mike Candrea (32nd Season)
Notable: Arizona lost for the first time in Pac-12 play over the weekend, dropping two games in a three-game series at Utah. The Wildcats rebounded with a doubleheader sweep of New Mexico State on Tuesday in Tucson. Arizona has scored an incredible 368 runs this season, an average of eight runs per game, which ranks second in the NCAA. Arizona leads the country with both a .614 slugging percentage and 1.72 home runs per game. UA's team ERA of 1.01 leads the Pac-12 and is second in the NCAA. Individually, Danielle O'Toole's 0.84 ERA is fifth in the country. Katiyana Mauga has hit 19 homers this season, the most in the Pac-12. 

WHEN PLAYING ARIZONA
- Arizona leads the all-time series, 82-28. 
- Oregon has won 14 of the last 18 meetings with UA. 
- UO has won six straight series against Arizona, going back to 2011 in Tucson. The Ducks swept the Wildcats in 2013 for the first time ever and swept them again last year in Eugene. 
- Oregon has run-ruled a top-20 Arizona team once in each of the last three seasons - 8-0 in five innings last year, 15-7 in five innings in 2015 and 14-3 in five innings in 2014. 
- Last season, Oregon shutout the Wildcats in each game of the series, the only time a team has ever held Arizona scoreless over a three-game series. 
- Mike White is 15-6 all-time against Arizona. 
- Oregon's longest winning streak in the series is just four games, both currently and in 2013-14. Meanwhile, Arizona's longest winning streak in the series is a whopping 34 games, running from 1990-99.

LAST YEAR AGAINST ARIZONA
- Last year the Ducks blanked Arizona in all three games of a three-game series in Eugene. 
- The Ducks won the first game, 2-0, behind a Sammie Puentes homer and a seven innings of one-hit ball from LHP Cheridan Hawkins
- Oregon claimed the second game, 7-0, as the Ducks belted out three homers, including two from Nikki Udria. Megan Kleist tossed a shutout with five hits allowed and two strikeouts. 
- The Ducks run-ruled Arizona, 8-0, in five innings in the third game of the series to take the sweep. The Lindvall sisters - Janelle and Lauren - went back-to-back with homers in the fourth inning while LHP Cheridan Hawkins tossed her second one-hitter of the weekend. 

TOP-25 WINS
The Ducks are 15-4 against fellow top-25 teams this season. Oregon has played a top-25 team in 15 of its last 17 games with three more this weekend at Arizona. 

BIG TIME PITCHERS
This weekend's series between Arizona and Oregon will feature the top-2 pitching staffs in the Pac-12 and five of the top-40 individual ERAs in the NCAA. Oregon freshman Maggie Balint ranks seventh in the NCAA with a 0.86 ERA while Arizona ace Danielle O'Toole is fifth with a 0.84. Arizona starter Taylor McQuillin is 17th in the NCAA with a 1.15 ERA. Oregon sophomore Megan Kleist is 31st with a 1.35 ERA while UO freshman Miranda Elish is 38th with a 1.49 ERA. Collectively, Arizona's 1.01 ERA is second in the county while Oregon's 1.21 is fourth. 

RPI
The Ducks rank No. 7 in this week's NCAA RPI. The Pac-12 features four of the top-7 teams in the country, with Arizona at No. 3, Washington at No. 4 and UCLA at No. 6. 
 
FINALISTS FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Both senior SS Nikki Udria and freshman RHP Maggie Balint were named finalists for the USA Softball national player of the year, the organization announced on April 12. Of the 34 finalists, Balint is the only freshman. 

STRIKEOUT-TO-WALK RATIOS
Oregon's young pitching staff has racked up the strikeouts this season without allowing many free passes. 
- Freshman RHP Maggie Balint has 123 strikeouts this season compared to just 20 walks, a 6.2-to-1 ratio. 
- Sophomore RHP Megan Kleist has 92 strikeouts and just 22 walks, a 4.2-to-1 ratio. 
- Freshman RHP Miranda Elish has 70 strikeouts but also only 17 walks for a 4.1-to-1 ratio. 

SWIPE SISTERS
Senior Danica Mercado (18) and sophomore Alexis Mack (13) are first and third in the Pac-12 in stolen bases, respectively. As a team, the Ducks have a Pac-12-high 63 stolen bases this year, 22 more than Cal in second place. 

UDRIA ON BASE
Senior Nikki Udria has gotten on base every game but one this season for the Ducks. She failed to reach base against Cal Poly back on Feb. 12. Since then, she has gotten on base in 35 straight games. 

IN THE CIRCLE
Oregon's young pitching staff has shined all year long. 
- With a 1.21 team ERA, the Ducks rank fourth in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12. 
- Oregon owns three of the top-7 ERAs in the Pac-12 this season, highlighted by Maggie Balint's 0.86 ERA, second-best in the Pac-12. Megan Kleist is sixth with a 1.35 and Miranda Elish is seventh with a 1.49. 
- The Ducks are second in the league with 285 strikeouts and second with 46 earned runs allowed. 

EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
Oregon has been one of the best hitting teams in the nation over the last few seasons and this year is no exception.
- UO ranks 10th in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12 with a .331 batting average. 
- The Ducks are seventh in the country and rank second in the league with a .432 on-base percentage. 
- Oregon is eighth in scoring in the NCAA, averaging 6.6 runs per game. 
- Oregon owns three of the top-7 individual batting averages in the Pac-12, led by Nikki Udria's .434 average. Alexis Mack is third with a .423 while Danica Mercado is seventh with a .403. 
- Oregon also two of the top-5 individual on-base percentages in the conference, with Nikki Udria ranking third at .527 and Alexis Mack at fifth with a .504. 

BEST START TO A SEASON IN NCAA HISTORY
Oregon started the season with a 35-0 record and was the last undefeated team in the nation. The 35 wins to start a season tied the NCAA record, also reached by UCLA in 1999.