Preview: Oregon softball vs. Cal
This article is via ScoopDuck softball reporter Christopher Tracy
The Oregon Ducks Softball team plays their conference home opener this weekend with Cal. The Ducks won the series last week with Utah, but did drop the first game, and had to battle back in game three to clinch the series. In that game 3 with Utah, the Ducks were trailing by 3 runs entering the 7th inning. But the Ducks put together a comeback and rallied to score 4 runs in the top of the inning, taking the 7-6 lead and going on to win.
During the gamer, there were several posts of concern, that this was just like the teams of previous seasons, bats go cold and team folds. I have to admit I have been thinking about that all week and I have realized this: Isn’t that why all teams lose? I mean on occasion, there could be some miscues from the defense that allow leads to slip away, but boiled down to the simplest factor… teams lose because their offense wasn’t as good as the other team.
The reality is, as coach Lombardi said, “Softball is a game of failure. You hit .300, and that means you are 3 for 10. It’s a game of failure. It’s important….if something doesn’t go your way, that you understand how to get rid of it, and get rid of it quickly!”
And that’s true. If the Ducks bats aren’t performing, the players need to bounce back and be present on the bench, and make sure their defense is doing everything possible to keep the team in the game. This isn’t a sport of inches…..it’s truly a sport of millimeters. One swing can change a game, get under a ball it’s a pop up, get on top of it and it becomes a grounder. Hit the middle, and you’re getting on base and have a chance to score runs.
Don’t look for these Ducks to win games with one swing of the bat. They will hit their fair share of bombs, but that’s not who this team is. They are going to string together the hits, let the base runners pressure the defense and create scoring opportunities, turn singles into doubles, steal bases, and have a lot of smiles while they cheer on their team.
This team, almost to the player and staff, has been described as the closest group they have ever been a part of or seen. Part of that is the depth, and competition that creates, but mostly it’s because 4 years ago, a group of kids came into a program that had just experienced a seismic shift. That group stuck together a created a foundation and an expectation of fighting. I said back in that first season, they were all too young and had been too successful to know they weren’t supposed to win. They were like a fighter…..would get knocked down brush the dust off and keep going, didn’t matter if it was #1 UCLA or #8 LSU and they weren’t expected to win. They just kept fighting and would keep coming back. They suffered from attrition and a complete lack of depth, and eventually, that meant they couldn’t sustain the fight….but they never quit.
Every team since then has been similar in mindset. This year’s team is so different from that year that ended early, and then last year when they couldn’t really be together or be in front of fans. Now they can, and they have embraced that unity in a way I don’t see many other teams doing. It’s an energy you can just feel when you are near them and see them on the field.
In looking at the Ducks Version 4, this is a team that is the deepest of any team ML has had, and I would throw their depth at any team in Oregon history. Now don’t conflate that with saying this team is natty or bust! But this team has as great a collection of talent as any team at Oregon has. They have the ability to hit for power, speed on the bases, defense, quality pitchers and depth to support them, and backups at every position to keep any injury from hamstringing the team.
The reality is, all of that doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t come out to play every single game, and especially so here as the conference schedule goes into full swing. The teams picked to be the bottom of the conference are ready to pounce at any sign of weakness.
Utah was picked to finish last, and they proved to be a capable opponent last weekend. The Cal Bears, were picked one spot ahead of Utah at 8. The same Cal bears we will face this weekend, who were able to capture 2 of 3 from Washington. The Huskies who were picked to finish 2nd in Conference and are ranked #9 currently.
The OSU Beavers were picked to finish 7th in the conference and were ranked in the top 25 before dropping the series last week with #22 Arizona St. So even the bottom tier of the conference teams are showing how much of a gauntlet this conference is. As coach Lombardi explains, “Every week is like a Super Regional.”
Allee Bunker described it like this, “It’s way tougher in the (Pac-12)…..You can’t take any time off….Once you get to Pac-12, you may not feel too great about yourself every weekend because the Pac-12 humbles you because you’re playing against all great players.”
The Ducks have to have that mentality if they want to weather the conference slate and come out the other side. The fight continues with Cal on Friday (1800), Saturday (1400), and Sunday (1200)
All games will be streaming and broadcast on KWVA.
Ducks Defense
The Ducks defense currently leads the conference and ranks #7 nationally with a (.981) fielding percentage. That’s kinda good! It’s also a testament to the quality depth. The starting catcher goes out with an injury in game 7 (McGowan takes a foul tip off her throwing hand)? No problem, Vallery Wong steps in. She proceeds to become a HR machine, guns down bases runners like it’s easy, and gets voted conference and national player of the week.
Starting shortstop takes a ball to the head (Sinicki was HBP vs BYU). We hope she recovers quickly, but we just bring in Jas Williams. Jas was the former starting shortstop before she took the year off to get married and have a child. Ohh, and she was the starting shortstop for the Gold-winning U19 USA team…….AND, had the hit that actually won the Gold. Again, easy peasy.
I kid, but the point is, the depth of this team is borderline insane. There is a real battle every game by the coaches to keep the hot bats in the lineup. And, if the bat isn’t hot, you still want the best defense possible on the field. But there aren’t many holes in the batting order I would try to pitch to. Rachel Cid may be on a little cold streak, but I dare a pitcher to put people on base trying to bring her up.
Ducks Offense
The Ducks bats have their moments of being cold, but the truth is this offense is producing. Currently they are second in the conference and #7 nationally scoring near 7.5 runs per game! That’s not happening because the bats are cold. I place a huge amount of credit to Coach Marder for the success this team is having.
She was a new coach to the team, but she quickly bonded with the players. I won’t say she “changed” the approach of the players when at bat, but I can say they have enhanced what they are doing. Many of the players have commented about not looking for a pitch, but instead looking towards a “zone.” They are also making more of an effort to put the ball in play. That focus, just by increasing the number of times the ball is touched by the defense, has led to good things. The defenses are having more errors. The team speed is able to press more and create opportunities. Last week vs BYU the Ducks stole a program-record 9 bases in that one game!! The speed is real…..and the saying goes, speed kills! Defenses make more mistakes when they are worried about the speed, and the errors from opposing teams seem to bear that out.
One area that this team is truly deadly, and it goes back to something they started with Version 1, is 2 out hitting. I used to joke that the Ducks would be better off spotting 2 outs to start innings. Well, it still applies. Of the 194 runs the Ducks have scored, roughly half have come with 2 outs (86). This team continues to fight until the last out, regardless of how far behind or what inning it is. They have shown they have the ability to come back in games, that game 3 vs Utah the most recent testament.
Really that’s all you can ask for. A team that has fun playing the game. A team that plays stronger for those players fighting alongside them. A team that never stops fighting! They’ve had their moments this season, as a fan you can see the moments where things aren’t working. Hitters not following the plan, swinging wildly, pitchers seeming to struggle finding the zone or giving up home runs, defensive errors on simple plays. But none of those moments have defined the team, they have been examples of adversity that this team seems to meet head-on and have continued to overcome. The players and staff deserve great credit for that!
Injuries
The Ducks will be getting Makenna Kliethermes back this weekend. She didn’t make the trip to Utah. Paige Sinicki is still being “evaluated” but unfortunately won’t likely play this weekend, so Jas Williams will likely continue at SS. Terra McGowan is probably going to be back next weekend, I think she had the cast removed, but won’t be available this weekend. Karissa Ornelas, a backup catcher, will also miss this weekend. She was a player that also didn’t make the trip to Utah last week. Yanez is out for the year. Other than those mentioned, everyone should be available and expect to see most of them this weekend at some point. Coach Lombardi is not shy about using multiple lineups, and going deep into the bench.
Cal Bears
The team is led by former Oregon assistant coach Chelsea Spencer. She was a big reason the Mike White teams had such good defense, and she has her Bears team playing solid fundamentals. Anzaldo, who plays third has been error-prone though, with 9, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Ducks trying to hit to the left side.
The offense is capable, and I heard is batting close to 50 points higher this year. That means they are seeing the ball much better. They have a team BA of about (.300) but that’s carried by their top hitters Makenna Smith (.493) and Tatum Anzaldo (.434). Sophomore Sona Halajian (.386) is a dual-threat as she also leads the pitching staff at 12-2 (ERA 2.74). She beat Gabby Plain and UW last weekend.
I’d expect to see Halajian at least twice in this series, with Annabel Tepersen (ERA 2.58) and Haylei Archer (ERA 2.80) being the arms we see in relief.
The Ducks will need to jump on the Bears early, they have had most of their success when they are able to keep teams from scoring and settle into a groove. They don’t perform as well under pressure.
