#1 Oregon vs. #16 Kentucky
Eugene, OR
Broadcast information:
Mark Neely and Danielle Lawrie
Thursday @ 9 pm ET, ESPN2
Friday @ 11 pm ET, ESPN2
Saturday @ 9 pm ET, ESPN (if necessary)
How they got here:
Oregon finished the regular season 47-7 and as regular-season PAC-12 champions. The Ducks were 21-3 in conference play and won every conference series. Selected as the NCAA tournament’s #1 overall seed, the squad went 3-0 in their regional in Eugene, besting Albany and Drake (twice) by a combined score of 12-0 to advance to the Super Regionals.
Kentucky posted a 34-19 record during the regular season, with an 8-15 record in conference and the #10 seed in the SEC tournament. The Wildcats lost in the tournament’s first round to Arkansas. The team were selected as the #16 overall seed and hosted a regional in Lexington, posting a 3-0 record with a trio of run-rule victories over Illinois-Chicago and Notre Dame (twice), outscoring their opponents 28-1 to advance to the Super Regionals.
Who to watch
Oregon: Megan Kleist, P — Kleist is an easy choice for the Ducks’ team MVP this season; even on days when her team’s offense may not be completely clicking, she’s kept her squad in the game and opponents swinging from their heels. One of ten finalists for National Player of the Year, Kleist boasts 211 strikeouts in 167.2 innings of work and limited opponents to a .166 batting average against her. Notably, Kleist was 2-2 against SEC opponents this season, all in early-season conference tournaments and including an 8-inning-plus walk-off loss to Ole Miss in a 1-0 result. She’ll need to be on her A-game against the Wildcat offense.
Kentucky: Rachael Metzger, IF/PH — Metzger stepped to the plate all of three times in her team’s trio of regional games, each time in a pinch-hitting appearance, but no one made a bigger impact than the senior. After working a walk as part of a six-run fifth inning in her team’s opening game, Metzger again stepped in to pinch hit in the winner’s bracket game and delivered a grand slam and four RBI that broke the game wide open against Notre Dame. In the regional final, again facing Notre Dame, Metzger’s bases-clearing double helped her team to the victory and gave her seven RBI on the weekend. No one is swinging a hotter bat than the Wildcat infielder.
