BYU to face No. 3 seed Oregon in NCAA Regional opener

PROVO, Utah--BYU softball will play in the nightcap of the Eugene Regional on Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT against No. 3 seed and host Oregon at Howe Field in Eugene. North Carolina and Wisconsin will kick off the Regional at 3 p.m. PDT.

Game matchups throughout the Regional are as follows (all times listed are PDT):

Thursday, May 16    

Game 1 - North Carolina-Wisconsin, 3 p.m.    

Game 2 - No. 3 seed Oregon-BYU, 6 p.m. 

Friday, May 17

Game 3 - Game 1&2 Winners, 11 a.m.    

Game 4 - Game 1&2 Losers, 2 p.m.    

Game 5 - Game 4 Winner & Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m.    

Saturday, May 18

Game 6- NCAA Regional Final, 12 p.m.

Game 7- NCAA Regional Final (if necessary), 3 p.m.

BYU QUICK HITS

• BYU won 16 of its final 17 regular-season games and clinched the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Championship in the process to earn a bid to its ninth-straight postseason. 
• BYU played in the Eugene Regional last year after winning the Western Athletic Conference tournament. It defeated Mississippi State and Portland State in the Regional but was ultimately eliminated after losing twice to Oregon. The Cougars are 3-6 overall against the Ducks and have yet to beat them at their home field.
• The Cougars are led by freshman outfielder Gordy Bravo, who is hitting a .393 clips alongside 43 RBI and 35 runs scored.
• Senior JC Clayton's playing status for the Regional is still undetermined pending an evaluation of an injury sustained in BYU's last game of the season. 

OPPONENT NOTES

OREGON

The Ducks won their first Pac-12 Championship en route to a No. 3 seeding in the NCAA Regionals. They are 9-0 in regional action in the last three years and have made it to the NCAA’s every year under current fourth-year head coach Mike White. Last year, Oregon made it to its first-ever Super Regional and also advanced to its second Women’s College World Series. Oregon is led by Alexa Peterson and Janie Takeda at the plate, who are sporting a .471 and .457 batting average, respectively. Peterson is one of four Duck batters who are in double digits for home runs this season, to help pad the team total of 76. Right handed pitcher Jessica Moore leads the way for the Ducks on the mound. In her fourth and final year for Oregon, she had a 25-win season alongside a 1.59 ERA and has limited opponents to a career-low 39 earned runs this season. As a team, Oregon ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA in batting average, ERA, win/loss percentage and slugging percentage. 

ONE OF A FEW

BYU is just one of 19 NCAA softball team’s to have made it to the postseason in each of the last nine years. The Cougars are tied with Arizona State and Texas at nine-straight for the 17th highest streak in postseason history. California leads the way with 29-straight postseason appearances. Oregon’s appearance this year makes is it’s fourth-straight, while Wisconsin hasn’t made it to the postseason since 2005. North Carolina ranks 13th in the NCAA with its 11-straight appearances.  

OFF TO A GOOD START

BYU has won its first game in the last six years of its NCAA Regional appearances. Below are the Cougars’ all-time Regional records by day and game:

Thursday                         Friday                                              Saturday

Game 1: 7-2                     Winner’s Bracket Game 2: 2-5         Championship: 1-4

                                         Loser’s Bracket Game 2: 1-2           If Necessary:0-0

                                         Loser’s Bracket Game 3: 3-3

LAST TIME OUT AT REGIONALS

BYU won two and lost two in its Oregon Regional last year, defeating Mississippi State and Portland State and falling to No. 11 Oregon twice. Oregon did advance onto the Super Regional and defeated Texas to advance to the Women’s College World Series, where they finished 1-2. Following are the combined stats for players on this year’s team from last season’s Oregon Regional (4 games):

Tori Almond- 18.0 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 15 K 

JC Clayton- 2 hits, 1 RBI 

Carly Duckworth- 2 runs, 1 SB 

Bailie Hicken-1 BB, 1 SB

Hannah Howell- 10.0 IP, 19 hits, 9 ER, 5 K

Katie Manuma- 1 hit, 2 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Ashlee Robinson- 1 BB, 2 hits, 1 run

Alexandra Shamo- 2 hits

Caroline Umphlett- 1.0 IP

TICKET AND MEDIA INFORMATION

All-session general admission tickets are available to purchase online at the www.GoDucks.com website. Later in the week, single-day tickets will be available online as well. Information regarding where to watch the games via live stats or internet streaming will be available later in the week. Check the byucougars.com website and BYU softball schedule for more information as it becomes available.