What to know as Oregon Ducks begin play at 2023 Pac-12 Softball Tournament
Oregon softball's long winning streak ended last weekend during the final series of the regular season.
It’s the perfect time for the Ducks to get hot again.
The inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament takes place Wednesday-Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, and Oregon goes in as the No. 5 seed with a quarterfinal game against No. 4 Stanford at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
It’s a win-and-advance tournament format with the semifinals on Friday and the championship game Saturday.
The Ducks (35-14) had won 13 straight before getting swept by Utah in a three-games series at Jane Sanders Stadium.
“It was just a tough weekend,” Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “Again, I trust who we are, I trust what we’ve been doing all year, and I’m excited for us to compete in the first Pac-12 Tournament.”
The Ducks will face a Cardinal (39-12) team they tied with for fourth place in the conference standings at 14-10. Stanford won the tiebreaker by virtue of its 2-1 series win against Oregon in March.
The Cardinal won the first game by a score of 3-1 in eight innings, and the third game, 3-2. The Ducks took the second game, 2-1.
Oregon struggled that series to get anything going against Stanford’s pitching staff, which includes one of the best starting duos in the Pac-12.
Senior right-hander Alana Vawter (16-7) earned both wins for the Cardinal as she held the Ducks to 12 hits and three runs over 14 innings.
Vawter ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with a 1.81 ERA and fifth with 130 strikeouts.
Freshman righty Nijaree Canady (14-1) is the conference leader with an ERA of 0.52 and is third with 160 strikeouts.
After being held to three runs against the Utes, the Ducks will attempt to get their offense back on track.
Oregon is led by senior second baseman Allee Bunker, who ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in batting average (.404), fourth in RBIs (52) and second in hits (65).
“I think we just continue to trust our process, trust who we are as a team,” Lombardi said. “Our (conference season) is officially over and now postseason starts.”
2023 Pac-12 Softball Tournament schedule
Hillenbrand Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Wednesday
Game 1: No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 9 Arizona State, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Thursday — Quarterfinals
Game 2: No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 California, 10 a.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game 3: No. 2 Washington vs. No. 7 Oregon State, 12:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game 4: No. 1 UCLA vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Game 5: No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 5 Oregon, 6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
Friday — Semifinals
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday — Championship
Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12 Softball Tournament: Oregon Ducks vs. Stanford Cardinal
