Brooke Yanez sat helpless on the mound as Arizona State’s Kindra Hackbarth towered a home run over the center field wall. Yanez was stuck in the middle of a long third inning during a four-game stretch from April 30 to May 2, 2021 when the Ducks dropped three games.
She had pitched a total of 8 1/3 innings over the previous three days. While Yanez led the Pac-12 with 22 wins last season, the Sun Devils had no problem exploiting the Ducks’ ace.

Whether it was a crux of continuity or a result of Yanez’s fatigue, the Ducks’ lack of a deep pitching staff contributed to the three-game skid.

Heading into the 2022 season, Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi stressed the importance of building a strong pitching staff around Yanez, who made an appearance in 37 of the Ducks’ 57 games last year and pitched a total of 182 1/3 innings.

“We need a pitching staff,” Lombardi said. “This year our pitching staff is much more experienced, so [Yanez] doesn’t have to take on the number of innings she did last year.”

Alongside Yanez, the Ducks return junior Makenna Kliethermes and fifth-year Jordan Dail. They also added freshmen Stevie Hansen and Allison Benning.
A deep pitching staff will help keep each pitcher fresh and catch Oregon’s opponents off guard. Yanez, Dail and Hansen tend to throw the ball with more spin, while Benning and Kliethermes enforce their will with speed and power.

“Every game, we’re going to have a lot of options,” Yanez said. “We all specialize in different pitches, which will be good for our team and scary for our opponents.”
With the addition of two freshman pitchers and the emphasis to take the stress off of Yanez’s shoulders comes a new challenge for catcher Terra McGowan. McGowan earned a spot on the Second Team All-Pac-12 last season. She finished the season second in the conference with 12 runners caught stealing while hitting .308.

McGowan is committed to Lombardi’s vision. She’s spent most of her practice time in the bullpen working with each of the new pitchers to build chemistry, making for a smooth transition.

“The bullpen sessions are about understanding what each pitcher needs when they’re on the mound,” McGowan said. “It’s been fun to see them on the mound and see our defense grow comfortable working with them through each individual inning.”

It will take a complete buy-in from all three phases of coaching, pitching and catching to ensure the efficiency of the Ducks’ pitching staff. Lombardi, Yanez and McGowan are committed to making it work.

“I think all the pitchers understand that we don’t need one of them to take the reins,” Lombardi said. “It’s important we give them all opportunities.”

The Ducks’ softball season started Thursday, Feb. 10, as they traveled to Fullerton, California, to take on Ole Miss before competing in the UCLA tournament from Feb. 11-19.