Oregon Softball Looks To Survive Tricky Eugene Regional

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon Ducks softball is back in the NCAA Tournament and back at Jane Sanders Stadium. Coach Melyssa Lombardi’s squad is set to host the Eugene Regional for the second year in a row and looks to make it back to the Women’s College World Series.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Saint Mary’s Gaels and the Idaho State Bengals will all be in Eugene competing for a spot in the Super Regionals. Below is what to know about the teams playing at Jane Sanders Stadium ahead of the weekend.

The Oregon Ducks’ Journey Into the Postseason

Like in years past, Oregon stumbled entering the postseason. The Ducks would’ve had a strong case to earn a higher seeding and host a Super Regional if they won the Eugene Regional, but instead they fell to a tournament No. 4 seed.

The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Oregon 11-9 in the Ducks’ first Big Ten Tournament game in the quarterfinals. Despite first baseman Stefini Ma’ake and outfielder Elon Butler powering their offense, uncharacteristic pitching struggles allowed 11 runs.

The Ducks still had a strong finish to the regular season and will look to get back on track as they attempt to make their second consecutive WCWS. Oregon played the ninth-most difficult schedule nationally, which could end up helping them against challenging postseason opponents in high-stakes meetings.

Oregon’s First Postseason Opponent: the Idaho State Bengals

The first team that Oregon will match up with is a team it already played once this season. The Bengals played in Eugene in the Oregon Classic at the beginning of the season. The Ducks won their meeting with Idaho State 4-3 in eight innings.

Butler led the way in the previous matchup, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles, including the double that scored the game-winner.

Idaho State returns to Eugene for its first NCAA Tournament in program history, following a win in the Big Sky Tournament. The Ducks are scheduled to play the Bengals at 7 p.m. PT on Friday in what will be the 12th meeting between the two. Oregon is 10-1 in the first 11 matchups.

Mississippi State Bulldogs and Saint Mary’s Gaels on Deck

The first game of the Eugene Regional will be between Mississippi State and Saint Mary’s, with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT. The winner of that game will play the winner of Oregon vs. Idaho State, with the losers also playing each other.

If the Ducks and the Gaels end up playing each other at some point in the Eugene Regional, it will extend the all-time series to 27 meetings. Oregon holds the advantage all-time at 22-4. The Gaels are back in the NCAA postseason for the second time in the last three years after winning the West Coast Conference championship.

But the big threat to the Ducks in the Eugene Regional is Mississippi State. Last season in was the tournament No. 5 seed, the Stanford Cardinal, that provided Oregon with a real challenge to advance deeper into the postseason, and it shouldn’t be any different with the Bulldogs as the No. 5 seed this year.

Oregon won the last matchup 7-2 back in 2020, but the series is tied at 1-1. The Bulldogs are very familiar with the postseason, entering their 20th tournament appearance and eight of the last nine tournaments. They played in an Eugene Regional back in 2012, although they never played the Ducks in that one.

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