Notes: Five More Games Await at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon softball team is back on the road this weekend, with five more games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Spring, Calif.

Rain is in the forecast this weekend. Follow @OregonSB on twitter for any weather related updates.

#9 OREGON DUCKS
Team BA: .344 | Team ERA: 0.88 | Runs Scored: 38 | Runs Allowed: 10
Recently: UO went 6-0 last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
Notable: Freshmen keyed Oregon's opening weekend play. 1B Mia Camuso hit a team-high .474 at the Kajikawa while RHP Maggie Balint went 4-0 with 33 strikeouts.

#22 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (3-2)
Team BA: .301 | Team ERA: 2.47 | Runs Scored: 17 | Runs Allowed: 14
Recently: Kentucky went 3-2 last weekend at a UCF tournament, both losses to Pitt
Notable: Pitcher Meagan Prince went 1-1 but allowed sixs runs in 12.1 innings pitched. Jenny Schaper hit a pair of homers. The team went 10-for-10 on stolen bases attempts.

KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (3-2)
Team BA: .325 | Team ERA: 3.71 | Runs Scored: 34 | Runs Allowed: 20
Recently: Went 3-2 at the Mercer Invitational, wins vs. Mercer, Murray State, Port. St.
Notable: Holly Speers starred for Kent State on opening weekend, hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two homers. Maddy Grimm drove in 14 runs, including seven vs. Murray St.

LIBERTY FLAMES (5-0)
Team BA: .460 | Team ERA: 0.97 | Runs Scored: 47 | Runs Allowed: 6
Recently: Liberty went undefeated at the Dot Richardson Invitational in Clermont, Fla.
Notable: Liberty started the season 5-0 for the first time since 2006. Freshman Amber Bishop was named Big South Player of the Week after batting .625 with nine RBIs.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS (1-4)
Team BA: .262 | Team ERA: 3.89 | Runs Scored: 160 | Runs Allowed: 260
Recently: CSUN went 1-4 at the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
Notable: After dropping its first four games of the season, CSUN rallied back to beat Northwestern, 7-5. Daphne Pofek posted a 2.76 ERA in a team-high 12.2 innings.

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (4-1)
Team BA: .395 | Team ERA: 2.55 | Runs Scored: 38 | Runs Allowed: 14
Recently: Illinois went 4-1 at a tournament in Puerto Rico
Notable: Started the season 4-0 before falling to California, 9-5, to end the trip to Puerto Rico. Nicole Evans hit .611 (11-for-18) with three doubles and two homers.

THE MARY NUTTER CLASSIC
- Flosoftball.com will stream games this weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic for a subscription fee.
- The Ducks went 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Classic last season with wins over No. 20 Fresno State and No. 17 Missouri. Oregon lost, 6-5, to Nebraska.
- Oregon defeated Cal State Northridge, 14-3, in six innings at the Mary Nutter last season and the Ducks are scheduled to play the Matadors again this weekend.

LAST WEEKEND
Oregon went 6-0 at the Kajikawa Classic to open the 2017 season. The Ducks outscored their opponents 38-10 over the six games, including two run-rule 8-0 wins. Oregon also picked up a top-25 win last weekend, taking down No. 24 Fresno State, 4-1. Freshman RHP Maggie Balint started that game and earned the win after tossing six innings with just one run on three hits plus 11 strikeouts and no walks.

BALINT RINGS THEM UP
Freshman RHP Maggie Balint proved her prodigious high school stats weren't a fluke in her first weekend of collegiate pitching. The West Grove, Pa., native went 4-0 in five appearances with 33 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. Her four wins leads the NCAA and her 33 strikeouts are the third-most in the country.

KLEIST STEADY IN THE CIRCLE
Sophomore RHP Megan Kleist, the veteran of the staff this season, did not allow a run (both earned or unearned) over the weekend with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 11.0 innings pitched. Kleist picked up one win and one save while making three starts and four appearances.

FRESHMEN MAKE EARLY IMPACT
In addition to RHP Maggie Balint making a big early impact, Oregon's other freshmen came to play on opening weekend.
- First baseman Mia Camuso hit .474 at the Kajikawa Classic while starting all six games. The Redding, Calif., native homered and doubled four times for a .842 slugging percentage.
- Freshman RHP/DP Miranda Elish hit .444 over the weekend while tossing 9.1 innings with four earned runs.
- Haley Cruse started two games in the outfield and entered as a defensive replacement in the other four contests.
- Third baseman Shannon Rhodes started twice and played in five of the six games.

MACK IN THE MIX
South Carolina transfer, sophomore Alexis Mack, was in the mix early and often for the Ducks last weekend. The Ohio native hit .444 while starting all six games with five runs scored and a double.

OREGON IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
After the first weekend of the season, the Ducks rank 15th in the nation in on-base percentage (.461) and 20th in ERA (0.88).

OREGON IN THE POLLS
The Ducks finished the 2016 regular season ranked No. 4 in both polls, but after falling to UCLA in Super Regionals, the Ducks ended the year ranked No. 10 by the NFCA and No. 11 by USA Softball. They were No. 9 in both polls to start the season. Oregon remained at No. 9 this week in the NFCA poll but jumped up to No. 7 in the USA Softball ranking.

TOP-25 STREAK
Oregon softball has been ranked in the top-25 of the NFCA poll for 105 straight weeks (preseason and postseason polls included). The Ducks climbed to No. 23 in week 10 of the 2010 season and have never dipped below that mark since.