“Winning isn’t everything — it’s the only thing.”
So went the famous line from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi’s mouth.
Well, when it comes to the 2001 Oregon softball team, winning has become as scarce as scoring a run off of Boston’s ace hurler Pedro Martinez and his 1.45 earned run average.
The Ducks currently sit at the bottom of the Pacific-10 Conference with a 1-17 league record, 15 games behind league-leading Arizona. One and 17, folks. That’s the kind of record that will eat at you from the inside out and build up some serious frustration.
Of course, Oregon does compete in the best conference in the nation, with seven teams being ranked in the top 14, including No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Stanford. But still, going out to the ballpark day-in and day-out and not winning can really wear on a team.
Losing to top-ranked teams is one thing, but Oregon definitely felt the sting from being swept on the road by Portland State in a doubleheader April 3.
With that in mind, the Ducks hosted those same Vikings Wednesday at Howe Field in another doubleheader, hoping to extract some revenge and also some much-needed wins. In the first game, though, Oregon couldn’t hold on to its 2-0 lead and lost, 4-2 — and all four PSU runs were unearned.
After the tough defeat, you weren’t sure what kind of Ducks team would show up in game two. Would it be a lethargic bunch who would just go through the motions? Or would it be a pride-filled team that would recognize it is better than its opponent?
The answer came immediately.
Oregon’s Lisa Wangler saved a base hit in the first inning with an all-out diving catch in center, and then the Ducks’ bats got rolling in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs.
Oregon would tack on four more for the game, including a two-run blast from freshman Kate Peterson, and ride the right arm of pitcher Connie McMurren all the way to a confidence-boosting 7-0 victory.
“You get to a point where you have to put everything else aside and worry about the now, and not focus on what’s already happened,” Oregon head coach Rick Gamez said. “I was proud of the kids the way they came back.”
Peterson, who went 2 for 3 in game two, admits that the season has been tough on her and her teammates, but she insists that this is a squad with no quit in it.
“We’re always here to battle,” Peterson said. “We’re going to put up our fight and even if we struggle, we’re going to keep fighting.”
Even though the Vikings (23-36) are only a fourth-place team from the Western Athletic Conference and not a Pac-10 juggernaut, the dominating Oregon shutout win provided a rare bright spot for the Ducks as they prepare for season-ending games with No. 5 California and fourth-ranked Stanford this weekend.
“We’re going to come out and leave everything on the field in our last two games,” Peterson said. “I’m a believer in that sports teach you more about life than anything else. Sometimes you have bad years, but I’ve learned a ton this year.”
Peterson also contradicts coach Lombardi’s earlier statement that winning is “the only thing.”
“I don’t believe winning is everything,” she said. “If you come out and give it your all, then you can walk away satisfied.”
As the cellar-dwelling Ducks, who will lose only one senior from their current lineup, head toward a postseason-less conclusion, perhaps another noted Lombardi quote would suit them better:
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”