Oregon – No. 13-seeded University of Oregon (39-14) looks forward to its 13th regional trip this weekend (and seventh the last nine seasons).  All-time, Oregon is 1-0 against Fordham (with an 11-0 win in 2000) and 4-0 vs. Penn State.  The Ducks started the season 28-3, including wins over NCAA Tournament teams Louisiana-Lafayette, BYU, Texas A&M, Pacific and North Texas, amongst others.  Throughout the entire season, they compiled a 15-14 against teams in the tournament.

The Ducks have a reasonable amount of power on this year’s team, as four players have eight or more home runs, including Kelsey Chambers, who leads the team with 13 round trippers.  Chambers is tied for second in RBI as well, with 30 and adds eight doubles.  Courtney Ceo and Monique Fuiava each have a team-high .378 batting average and are the team leaders in hits with 62 and 48, respectively.  Fuiava has 12 doubles and 44 RBI, both best on the team.  Ceo leads the squad with 14 steals.

Jessica Moore is the team’s ace and has a 21-9 record.  She boasts a sparkling 1.70 ERA.  She also leads the team with 193 strikeouts.  Sam Skillingstad has started 15 games for Oregon and gone 9-3 with an ERA just over two.  She also has 109 strikeouts

Penn State – Penn State will play in the postseason for the 10th time, their first since 2007.  The Lions cemented their bid by winning six of their last eight games.  Oddly, one of those eight was something you rarely see: a tie.  Penn State played 13 opponents that qualified for the NCAA Tournament and went 5-9 against them.  But one of those five was against Oklahoma, who earned the ninth national seed.

Cassidy Bell is hitting .295 and is leading the squad in the following categories: hits (49(, runs (30), home runs (seven) and steals (eight).  Kailyn Johnson leads the team with a .326 average (she is the only player above .300), while also having a team-high 28 RBI and six homers.

Jackie Hill’s 61 career wins are a school-record and has compiled an 18-12 record with a 2.12 ERA.  She has 182 strikeouts so far this season.  Hills has a partner in crime in the circle, however, as Lisa Akamine has seen action in 29 appearances, including 21 starts.  She sports a 1.91 ERA, to go along with her 131 punchouts.

Fordham – The Rams come into the postseason after winning their first-ever Atlantic 10 title and winners of 19 of their last 20 games.  To prepare themselves for their season and hopeful postseason run, the Rams spice up their nonconference schedule and this year was no exception.  The team traveled to three of the more prestigious tournaments and came away feeling good about themselves, either beating or playing close to six ranked teams.  All in all, Fordham played xx NCAA teams and compiled a xx-xx record against them.

Jocelyn Dearborn is the offensive stud for the 2011 Rams, as she leads the team in every offensive category.  She has compiled a .369 average, 16 home runs, 44 RBI, .770 slugging percentage and .428 on-base percentage.  The team has eight players, including Dearborn, which are hitting over ,250.

Fordham boasts what is possibly one of the best one-two pitching combos in America.  Jen Mineau is a returning All-American and after recovering from an early season injury, she has compiled a nifty 23-7 record, 1.20 ERA and 268 strikeouts, compared to only 36 walks.  More ridiculous is the fact she struck out 122 batters in conference play, while only walking nine!  The second part of the rotation is senior Chelsea Plimpton.  Plimpton compiled a 17-10 record, 2.18 ERA, while striking out 147 batters.

Albany – Albany will represent the American East after winning their conference tournament for the first time since 2007.  The win gave the Great Danes their fourth NCAA Tournament berth.

Gina Mason is the leading hitter on the team, as she hit .420, had 55 hits, 11 doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI, all of which were team highs.  While Andrianna Walraven is the only other player who hit over ,300 (.329), she is one of three Great Danes to have 15 or more steals.  Walraven stole 21 bases, which was second on the team.  Diane MacDowell leads the team with 23 steals.

Brittany MacFawn has been the horse of the three pitchers the team has used this year. She’s made 20 starts and thrown 150 innings.  She;s compiled a 15-6 record and 2.14 ERA.  She has also struck out 140 batters, while walking only 21