Eugene Regional (May 14-16) at Eugene, Oregon
North Dakota St. (43-9) vs Fresno St. (40-14)
BYU (39-12) vs. No. 2 seed Oregon* (46-6)
The University Oregon is the two seed and will host the Eugene Regional May 14-16. Oregon who has spent time ranked at the top of both major polls has a potent offense and top flight pitching. It is hard to pick a leader on the offensive side of the ball. They have three players batting.400 or higher in freshman Jenna Lilley (.448), freshman Gwen Svekis (.438) and senior Janie Takeda (.421). They also have four other players batting above .350. They do well at the plate but have not put up big power numbers, but they get hits in bunches and capitalize when runners are in scoring position. The Ducks also have one of the best pitchers in the country in junior Cheridan Hawkins (27-3). Hawkins has a 1.39 ERA with 224 strikeouts. She has held opponents to a .140 batting average as well. The ducks are one of the most balanced teams in the country that can beat teams in any number of ways.
Oregon will face BYU in their first game and it should be a good one that could turn into a real pitchers dual. Matter of fact this region is loaded with good pitching. The Cougars also have a line-up that is consistent and peppers hits around the field with two players batting .400 plus and a team average of .335. Their top hitter is junior Gordy Bravo (.463) and senior Lacey Hofstedt (.442). In the circle sophomore McKenna Bull. Bull has carried the weight this year going 34-7 on the season with a 1.96 ERA and 238 strikeouts. She pitched an amazing 239.1 innings which is 73 percent of all inning the Cougars played. She is a workhorse who does not give up many runs. Oregon should win this one, but it could be closer than some might expect. Both teams can hit, but both have shutdown pitchers.
The other game features North Dakota State (43-9) and Fresno State (40-14). Fresno State has won eleven in a row coming into the tournament. A big reason is the pitching of junior Jill Compton (28-10) and her 2.10 ERA with 235 strikeouts. As a team they have hit well also with a .328 team batting average. Senior Brenna Moss is hitting .446 and has a .512 on-base percentage. The Bulldogs will face one of the top pitchers in the country this year and North Dakota State senior Krista Menke. Menke is having a career season with a 2.05 ERA and amassing 362 strikeouts and 32-4 record. Junior Logan Moreland (.436) and junior Cheyenne Garcia (.429) are having a good season at the plate and will play big rolls in how well the Bison do in the regional. These two are evenly matched. The Bison have shown a bit more power in their line-up and that may prove to be the difference.
Oregon seems to be a team on a mission this year and you would be hard pressed to find someone that would pick against them coming out of this region
