Oregon Ducks Open NCAA Tournament vs Albany

The Oregon Ducks(47-7, 21-3 Pac-12) face Albany(32-14, 14-4 America West) to open the 2018 NCAA Tournament Eugene Regional.

The Oregon Ducks Softball team enters the 2018 NCAA Tournament on a roll with 13 straight wins and the number one overall seed. The Ducks will host a four-team pod this weekend that includes Drake, BYU and face Albany first on Thursday night at Jane Sanders Stadium.

The University of Albany is the lowest hitting team in Eugene this weekend batting at .266 on the season. In the circle, Celeste Verdolivo has kept her composure taking Albany to the America East regular season and tournament titles. She has posted a 1.73 Earned Run Average with 81 strikeouts to lead the Great Danes this season.

Albany hit 30 home runs in the regular season and were led by Chelsea Henige at the plate batting .367. She has started 35 of 36 games this season. As a team, they have only hit into two double plays for the entire season, which is a statistic that jumps off the page. McKenzie Bump and Aaliyah Wade are to players to watch on base and lead the team in stolen bases this season for Albany.

The Oregon Ducks have not lost a game in the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament under Mike White and are hitting an important stride as the postseason begins. Senior Leadership has taken hold for Oregon from key positions this season. Jenna Lilley and Gwen Svekis have stepped into their roles in the last three series. Svekis and DJ Sanders lead the team in home runs and Sanders has come through with some big hits over the last month.

In their final regular-season series, Oregon held the California Golden Bears to just two runs through three games that saw Miranda Elish earn two wins.

Next: Patrick Herbert Commits To Ducks

The Oregon Ducks open the NCAA Tournament hosting Albany on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 5:30 pm Pacific Time from Jane Sanders Stadium.