EUGENE -- The stakes for Oregon's best-of-three NCAA softball tournament super regional against Kentucky this week are straightforward enough.
Each program is just two wins away from a coveted berth in next week's Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. No. 3-seeded UO, after playing in three of the past five WCWS, is seeking the national title breakthrough that has eluded the program since becoming a consistent power under coach Mike White.
No. 14 Kentucky, though it has played in a super regional in four of the last five years, has advanced to just one WCWS, in 2014.