Cool! Ducks No. 16 in D1 Softball Preseason Poll

[Charles Fischer]

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon will open the 2022 season ranked 16^thin the D1 Softball preseason poll and will be led by a couple of players ranked among the nation’s top 100 by Extra Inning Softball.

 

Defending national champion Oklahoma led the D1 poll, released Tuesday, followed by Alabama and Oklahoma State. The Ducks were one of five Pac-12 teams in the preseason rankings, including No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Washington, No. 15 Arizona and No. 21 Arizona State.

 

Coming off a 40-17 record and an NCAA Regional final appearance a year ago, Oregon will be led by Brooke Yanez and Allee Bunker, who were both listed among the nation’s “Elite 100” players, Extra Inning Softball announced Tuesday.

 

Yanez, a fifth-year senior from Ventura, Calif., was an NFCA third-team All-American and a first-team all-Pac-12 pitcher in 2021. She finished second in the Pac-12 with 268 total strikeouts and led the conference with 10.29 strikeouts per seven innings. Yanez, an NFCA first-team all-Pacific Region selection, went 22-6 with a 2.11 ERA in 2021 while holding opponents to a .185 batting average in her 182.1 innings of work. Her 268 strikeouts are third in UO single-season history, behind only Cheridan Hawkins, who holds the top two spots.

 

Bunker, a senior from Huntington Beach, Calif., earned both all-Pac-12 first team and all-Pac-12 defensive team honors at second base in 2021. She was also named to the NFCA second team all-Pacific Region team. Bunker led the Ducks with 49 RBIs, last season and tied for the team lead with 10 home runs. She hit .342 with 10 doubles, two triples and 36 runs. She was also one of the most difficult players in the nation to strike out, fanning six times in 200 plate appearances.

 

Yanez and Bunker are two of the seven starters Oregon returns for the 2022 season. The Ducks also return catcher Terra McGowan, who hit .308 with 26 RBIs a season ago, outfielder Hanna Delgado (.302), Rachel Cid at third base (.288, 30 RBI) and outfielder Ariel Carlson, as well as infielder Jasmine Williams (the former Jasmine Sievers), who redshirted last season, but was an all-Pac-12 player for the Ducks as a freshman in 2019 after batting .326.

 

Season tickets for the 2022 season are on sale now. Reserved seats are $150 and general admission is $100.

 

The Ducks open the 2022 slate against Ole Miss Feb. 10 at Fullerton, Calif.

 

[30Duck]

Yanez leads a deep pitching staff and Allee is outstanding. The Ducks lost some talent to transfers but it sounds like another great team in The Jane