Koral Costa

Oregon center fielder Koral Costa dives for and catches a ball hit by Florida State's Tiffani Brown in the NCAA Women's College World Series last June. Kosta is one of five returning starters in the field in 2015 for the Ducks, who are ranked No. 2 in both major polls to start the season.

(Sue Ogrocki/The Associated Press)

No. 3 Oregon softball began its long march toward Oklahoma City, and a second straight berth in the Women's College World Series, on Friday afternoon with its season-opening victory in Tempe, Arizona.



The Ducks routed Cal Poly, 8-0, in the opener of the Kajikawa Classic thanks to a high-powered offense and stingy pitching staff -- a combination that brought UO to a No. 1 ranking a year ago, and toward similarly high expectations in 2015.



In January, the Ducks were picked by Pac-12 Conference coaches to win the league a third consecutive season, slightly ahead of UCLA.



Here is a primer on the 2015 Oregon Ducks softball team:



Ranking: Oregon opens 2015 at No. 2, its highest preseason ranking ever, in the two major polls run by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, and USA Softball.



The coach: Mike White begins his sixth season with a 279-86-1 record. He led the Ducks to a school-record 56 wins in 2014 and first-ever No. 1 ranking, along with a sweep of both the NCAA Tournament's regional and super regional rounds at Howe Field, making it five consecutive seasons that the Ducks have advanced to the super regional round. White brings back both his assistants in James Kolaitis (second season) and Chelsea Spencer (third season), a rarity given other programs have poached his assistants before.



Home opener: March 13 begins a three-game homestand against Oregon State that also opens Pac-12 play.



Other home series: Utah Valley (March 25 doubleheader), Washington (March 27-29), Arizona State (April 10-12), Louisiana-Lafayette (April 24-25) and California (May 1-3).



Recapping 2014: Oregon secured not only its first No. 1 ranking, but its first No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament en route to a second Women's College World Series berth in three seasons. Oregon finished 56-9-1 (20-3-1 Pac-12) and won the Pac-12 for a second consecutive season. Its season ended with a No. 3 ranking after losing in the WCWS semifinals, to Alabama.



Who's gone: Four field starters, most notably Kailee Cuico at first base and All-American Courtney Ceo at third. Cuico was Oregon's power, driving in a school record-tying seven RBIs against No. 1 UCLA on April 5, and six RBIs two weeks before in March. Ceo's .493 average in 2014 smashed the previous school record of .481. Her marks for runs (64) and hits (104) were other single-season records.





Oregon's Cheridan Hawkins won a school-record 35 games in 2014 and returns to anchor the Ducks three-arm staff that returns intact from last season.

Players to watch: Catcher Janelle Lindvall, outfielder Janie Takeda and left-handed pitcher Cheridan Hawkins are all among the 50 players named to the preseasons player of the year watch list for USA Softball. Lindvall's 13 home runs last season tied for the team lead, while Takeda, whose eight triples in 2014 set a school record, is the second two-time All-American in program history. Hawkins, the Pac-12 pitcher of the year, was also an All-American whose 35 wins were third-best nationally and 330 strikeouts ranked fourth in the NCAA and No. 1 in UO history.



Who's back: 13 letter winners, including the entire three-woman pitching staff, led by Hawkins (1.66 ERA), but also Karissa Hovinga (17-2, 1.80) and Jasmine Smithson-Willett (4-1, 2.88). Five starters in the field return, including outfielders Takeda, Alyssa Gillespie and Koral Costa. They're joined by Lindvall and shortstop Nikki Udria.

Stats to know: 100 percent of Oregon's pitching wins return from last season. Hitting is another story, though its attack is expected to rank among the conference's most deadly once again. Its "reload, not rebuild" mentality is spelled out in the stats: 58.9 percent of Oregon's hits, 62.9 percent of its runs,57.1 percent of its home runs and 71.3 percent of its stolen bases return from last season.



Power source: Nebraska transfer Hailey Decker, a Keizer native, is Oregon's best hope to replace some of the heavy hitting previously left to Cuico and Alexa Peterson. Decker hit 14 home runs and drove in 53 RBIs for the Cornhuskers last season, ranking first in the Big Ten in doubles, second in total bases, third in home runs and fourth in hits and RBIs. The team's other transfer, Geri Ann Glasco, comes with a reputation for power, too, after hitting 19 homers with 61 RBIs for Georgia in 2013, when she won SEC freshman of the year.



Under-the-radar X-factor: Redshirt sophomore Danica Mercado missed 2014 after breaking her leg in preseason practices, leaving the Ducks without their projected starter at second base. The big expectations Oregon had for Mercado last season are now transferred to 2015, when the former USA Softball Junior National Team member is healthy again.





Oregon shortstop Nikki Udria, trying to catch a runner off-base in the 2014 WCWS in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is one of five returning starters in the field for UO. Udria hit .324 as a freshman last season.

The star recruit: Jenna Lilley, a left-handed hitter from North Canton, Ohio, was ranked the nation's No. 1 recruit by StudentSports.com after leading her high school to four consecutive state championships and striking out 19 times in 478 career at-bats. In Friday's season-opener, Lilley hit fifth and started at third base.

The future: Immediately after Oregon's final home game this season, Howe Field will be torn down to accommodate the brand-new Jane Sanders Stadium, which will be open in time for the 2016 home opener.

Dates to know: The NCAA Tournament bracket will be unveiled May 10, regionals will be held May 15-17 and super regionals May 21-24. The 2015 Women's College World Series runs May 28-June 3 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

503-221-8100

@andrewgreif