After taking three of four games from New Mexico State and UTEP, No. 12/19 ASU softball (27-12, 5-3 Pac-12) will travel to Eugene to take on Oregon (32-5, 10-2 Pac-12) in a three-game series.
This will be the second to last slate of road games for the Sun Devils in Pac-12 play, with the final one coming against Stanford beginning on May 1.
Oregon comes into the series with ASU as winners of 16 of its last 18 games, with the only losses coming in Pac-12 play against UCLA and Washington. It should be noted, however, that the Ducks lost both of those games by a combined 15 runs.
ASU has won eight of its past 11 games and is hoping that contributions from a multitude of players in the batter's box will allow it to hang with the likes of Oregon.
In its two games against UTEP on Tuesday, the Sun Devils had an RBI from 10 different players, which is a testament to their depth and the willingness of their players to step up in any given situation and deliver for their team.
Oregon is led by senior outfielder Janie Takeda and freshman utility player Gwen Svekis, who are second and first respectively on the team in batting average, combining for 41 RBIs. The combination of youth and experience helps the Ducks, who have set themselves up to be a top-tier team for years to come.
Takeda joined ASU senior catcher Amber Freeman on the Pac-12 all-freshman team in 2012 and, like Freeman, is a two-time NFCA All-American.
Where ASU cannot have any sort of slip-ups this weekend is in its pitching, after a second game against UTEP where the Sun Devils rotated four different pitchers into the lineup, shaky pitching cannot rear its ugly head against an Oregon team with one of the most explosive offenses in the country (much like its football team).
This series, like many games before it this season, provides an opportunity for ASU to prove itself against a highly-ranked opponent. The Sun Devils took a game from the likes of Michigan and Oklahoma (both ranked in the top-five in the NFCA) earlier in the season, so taking even one game from the Ducks would be a huge accomplishment. A series win would likely propel the Sun Devils up both the standings and the rankings.
Oregon proved itself to be the best in the conference with a 2-1 series victory over UCLA last weekend, but had two games against Portland State cancelled this week due to rain, a series that would likely have padded Oregon's already impressive record.
Game one of the ASU-Oregon series will start off at 1 p.m. Friday, first pitch of game two will be 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and game three is scheduled for noon on Sunday. All three games will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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