While true freshman Stevie Hansen lacks collegiate postseason experience, she is no stranger to performing in big moments.
Hansen was immersed in softball at a young age as she watched her older sister Skylar’s journey through the sport. As she grew into a star herself, Hansen led her Norco High School team to back-to-back California state titles in 2018 and 2019, en route to being named CIF Southern Section Division 1 Player of the Year and the No. 6 player nationally in the Extra Inning Softball Top 100 high school class of 2021.
“I think she’s going to perform in the big game because she’s played in so many in her young career,” Hansen’s high school coach Richard Robinson said. “The CIF finals here, the national finals for travel, she’s played in as big as you can get before you get to the college level. She just gets better and better.”
This season, an injury to 2021 first team all-conference ace Brooke Yanez left a vacancy in the Oregon pitching rotation. Hansen has stepped up, filling the void while getting outs and giving the Ducks chances to win in the highly competitive Pac-12.
“She loves being put in pressure situations and seeing what she can do,” her father Steve said. “I think she just wants to be her personal best. I’ve never seen her compare herself to anyone.”
Hansen learned from observation as her sister’s young career took off. When the time came, her father, who coached both girls in recreational leagues as kids, empowered both to chase their softball dreams, signing the girls up for travel teams where they could play more competitively.
At the age of 10, Hansen garnered attention as parents and coaches alike clamored over the young phenom.
“I was like, yeah, she’s throwing well,” her father said. “And they go, ‘No she’s got something special. She’s just a step above.’ And then from 10 on she just started getting a little bit better and a little bit better.”
At 12, Hansen began playing for Athletics Mercado, a nationally ranked travel team. The step up in skill of the opponent forced her to up her own game, preparing Hansen for the next level of play.
Hansen entered the California powerhouse Norco High School as a freshman loaded with confidence and experience, ready to take on the best high school competition in Southern California, but found herself spending most of her time in the dugout behind current Washington pitcher Sarah Willis.
After back-to-back perfect games in her sophomore year, Hansen was splitting time with Willis before her junior year got cut short due to COVID-19.
Pitching year round with Athletics Mercado, the fourth ranked team nationally in their age group, Hansen played for a club national championship before returning to Norco to dominate her senior year, going 9-0 with a .13 ERA as she continued to improve and build confidence.
“She just seemed to get better and better,” Robinson said. “Her full potential I don’t even know if she’s hit it yet because each year we had her she grew and grew, and then you see what she’s done this year, I think the sky’s the limit for her.”
Hansen made the All-Pac-12 third team and was one of two pitchers selected to the conference all-freshman team. She ranked seventh in the Pac-12 with 120 strikeouts, tied for fifth in pitching appearances made and took to the circle 32 times in her freshman campaign.
“Each time you think you’ve seen ‘Okay how much better can you get than this’ you always see something that goes further,” Robinson said. “Never being truly satisfied with where [she] is, or always wanting to be better.”
With a less than glamorous 13-8 record and 23 home runs given up this season, twice as much as any other Oregon pitcher, Hansen has had to learn to deal with adversity, something she seemingly never experienced as she dominated compulsory competition.
“It’s about coming back, fighting back after, that’s what matters, that’s what makes a difference,” Hansen said. “I can’t hang my head on one pitch two innings ago. I need to just keep moving forward and just see it as one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time.”
Hansen’s calm presence is undeniable in the circle. When her rise ball is on, she’s nearly unhittable, and when balls are leaving the yard she maintains the same demeanor.
“I call her my little hippie kid because she’s always kinda just carefree,” Mr. Hansen said. “She does what she does. She doesn’t stress about many things.”
Hansen will make her collegiate postseason debut for the Ducks on Friday against Wichita State in the Fayetteville regional.
“The biggest thing that I can say is what you see in the circle is what you get,” Robinson concluded. “She’s always going to keep you in a game to give you a chance to win.”
