There’s a different feeling among the No. 11 Oregon softball team this week.
Having won their first-ever home Regional last weekend at Howe Field, the Ducks (42-15, 13-9 Pac-12) are back in the NCAA Super Regionals for the third consecutive season. And of the 16 remaining teams in the softball tournament@@check@@, Oregon has already played six of those opponents and beaten four of them — No. 1 California, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 13 Arizona and No. 16 Washington — at least once this season.
They also played No. 2 Alabama and No. 9 Missouri in nonconference action earlier this year.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=245&SPSID=4374@@
With that in mind, the Ducks say they’re past the point of being satisfied with reaching the Super Regional round and expect more from this postseason.
“Especially my class,” University junior second baseman Kaylan Howard said.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4375&SPID=245&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204763249&Q_SEASON=2011@@ “We feel like this is a hump that we get stopped at every time, and we have to overcome it.
“We’re definitely coming in with a lot more confidence than we did (the last two years). Everything was so new to us before, and everything that we did was an accomplishment because we never did it before.”
The junior class of Howard, left fielder Allie Burger, pitcher Jessica Moore and right fielder Samantha Pappas@@all checked@@ has advanced to the Super Regionals every year they’ve been on campus. Senior infielders Kelsey and Lindsey Chambers@@checked@@ have played key roles on the last two Super Regional teams as well.
Yet, as Howard mentioned, the Ducks have yet to win a game beyond Regional play. Back in 2010, Oregon won the Georgia Tech Regional and then had to turn around and fly to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Super Regional just a few days later. As the crow flies, that’s a 7,598-mile@@what?@@ roundtrip in less than two full weeks for a team starting — and relying heavily — on four freshmen.
It was the same story last season, when Oregon won the Penn State Regional in State College, Pa., before losing both games to eventual national runner-up Florida at the Gainesville Super Regional. That year, they covered 9,452 miles in the same amount of time.@@call@@
At the very least, being able to host last week’s Regional gave the Ducks a well-deserved travel break.
“I think it’s helped a lot,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “Definitely, with the preparation for the ladies with school, it takes a little bit of the stress and pressure off — that’s for sure. We don’t know until it happens, but I would say right now it’s a good thing.”
For Oregon’s few freshmen who have played regularly this spring — primarily center fielder Janie Takeda and No. 2 pitcher Karissa Hovinga@@checked@@ — this week presents another opportunity to reach a childhood dream of playing in the Women’s College World Series.
“I’ve watched the World Series as long as I can remember every year on TV,” said Takeda, a 52-game starter for the Ducks. “And it’s always been a place that I really wanted to go to. I’m really excited to be a part of it this year.”
Six Ducks grab all-region recognition
Oregon garnered a school-record six National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Pacific Region accolades earlier this week. Other Pacific region winners were drawn from Boise State, BYU, Cal, Cal State Sacramento, Oregon State, Pacific, Portland State, UC Davis, Utah and Washington.@@where do you get this@@
After helping the Ducks to a third-place finish in the Pac-12 regular season standings, Moore, Howard, Pappas and sophomore catcher Alexa Peterson@@checked@@ were each chosen to the first-team all-region.
Moore is Oregon’s first pitcher to receive back-to-back first-team honors, while Pappas was also a first-team choice as a freshman in 2010.
Sophomore infielders Courtney Ceo, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in March, and Kailee Cuico@@checked@@ were named to the second team.
Oregon was one of only five teams in the country to place all six of its honorees on the first and second teams, joining Arizona State, Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette and UCLA in the category.