Oregon Softball: Ducks Take Undefeated Record For Road Test At UCLA

The Oregon Ducks Softball team(35-0)matched the best start for a season with 35 straight wins and will look to add more to the win column this weekend at UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins(26-9) and Oregon Ducks have a history. The Bruins sent Oregon packing at Jane Sanders Stadium last year and went to the Women’s College World Series after winning the deciding game in Eugene. It was a bitter defeat for the Oregon Ducks in the first year of their new stadium. 2017 so far has had an incredible start with 35 straight wins and tying the mark for best start in NCAA History. Ironically the tie is also with UCLA.

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The Oregon Ducks have done it with Offense and Defense this season. On the mound, they are led by Miranda Elish and Maggie Balint who have helped with a team 1.04 ERA. At the plate, the team is hitting .356, good enough for third-best in the nation. Alexis Mack leads five players hitting over .400 for Oregon.

Shannon Rhodes showed power at the plate against Portland State last week in helping Oregon pick up a win in the two-game series. It will be experience that will get the Ducks past UCLA this weekend. Nikki Udria said last week that Oregon needs to play their game and not focus so much on the name on the opposing jersey.

UCLA comes in batting .316 as a team and ranked 9th in the nation. The Bruins have a team built on power and hitting home runs, which is opposite of Oregon’s game. They have hit 42 home runs so far this season.

Kylee Perez leads the Bruins hitting .443. She has 51 hits and 12 doubles and a single home run. Rachel Garcia is their best starter in the circle going 10-4 with 4 complete games. In 93 innings pitched she has 99 strikeouts.

Next: Oregon Baseball: Ducks Face UC Irvine At PK Park

The Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins begin their three-game series on Friday. (7pm PT). Saturday’s start is set for 7pm. Both games are on Pac-12 Network. The Sunday finale is slated for a 2pm first pitch on ESPN2.