Just over 1,680 miles, two games and the No. 6 Texas Longhorns stand between 11th-ranked Oregon and its first-ever appearance at the Women’s College World Series.
In what can already be considered one of, if not the absolute best, regular seasons in Ducks’ softball history, Oregon needs to win two of three games against the Big 12@@http://www.big12sports.com/@@ opponent to reach the final round of eight in Oklahoma City next week.
It’s an intriguing matchup between two very even teams — worthy of the nationally televised schedule it will receive. Both programs feature dominant pitchers, with Oregon’s Jessica Moore (two-time first-team All-Pac-12) and Texas’ Blaire Luna@@http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-softbl/mtt/luna_blaire00.html@@ (two-time first-team All-Big 12). Each team is aggressive on the base paths, sound in the field and very evenly matched across the board offensively.
On a personal level, this series truly brings my softball-watching career full circle.
Some of my earliest memories of the sport came from watching the WCWS on television. After baseball practice, I would go home, eat dinner and split time between college softball and the Mariners’ games on Fox Sports Network. (I can still remember the exact cable channels, though I’ve long since dropped the Mariners’ bit, mind you.)
Like an average 12-year-old boy, I never gave softball much of a chance — in any regard. It wasn’t baseball; therefore, it was innately inferior.
Then one day, my perspective dramatically changed when I first saw a lanky left-hander by the name of Catherine “Cat” Osterman@@http://www.catosterman.com/@@ pitch in 2003.
Osterman was a sophomore at the time, leading the Longhorns to a third-place finish that year. Beside the catchy name, Cat was beyond brilliant in the circle with a pure combination of grace and dominance that, for me at least, was harder to appreciate on the baseball diamond.
She went on to redshirt her junior year at Texas so she could compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. At the same age as Moore is now, Osterman went 24-0 during the USA Softball National Team’s 53-game schedule, pitching alongside fellow collegiate standout Jennie Finch@@http://www.jenniefinch.com/index@@ (a name you all undoubtedly recognize).@@who?@@ Team USA went on to win a gold medal that year and then a silver medal in Beijing in 2008.
If Osterman’s NCAA all-time record for strikeouts per seven innings (14.34) doesn’t speak for itself, her 20 NCAA career no-hitters and 10 NCAA career perfect games certainly do.
Now, I’m not attempting to draw a comparison among the aforementioned players. That wouldn’t be fair to any of them. But watching the Texas’ and UCLAs of the world compete year after year was the jumping-off point for my softball appreciation.
When I took over the Oregon softball beat in 2010, I had little-to-no idea what to expect. The previous Oregon coach’s firing wasn’t received well around campus, yet a change in Oregon’s program was forthcoming.
The Ducks got off to a great start under Mike White and have only built on that momentum since — and with their improved play has come higher expectations.
Just two years later, it’s the Women’s College World Series-or-bust for Oregon. They’ve seen Super Regional play two years in a row, and two years in a row, they’ve had to sit home and watch other Pac-12 teams win national championships.
It’s a sting this year’s team — which has beaten four of the 16 remaining teams already this season — isn’t willing to accept. And that’s the expectation for Oregon softball from here on out. I wrote a couple weeks ago that aspirations are extremely high for all sports programs in Eugene, which they rightly should be.
Thus, this weekend is the opportunity Oregon has been waiting for since early February: the chance to prove they belong in that next tier of competition — one that Moore and her teammates are anxious to join.