Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen, during last season, when her team struggled to a last-place finish in the Pacific-10 Conference, often wondered if one of her best players was sitting on the bench.
That player was Jenn Salling.
Salling’s statistics this season certainly support that assertion.
Salling, who utilized her redshirt during her first season at Oregon, now leads the nation with a .527 batting average, is third with a .927 slugging percentage and fourth with an average of 1.36 RBIs per game. She ranks in the top 10 in the conference in 14 different categories, including first in five of those.
Salling already owns the school single-season record with 57 RBIs, is closing in on the record for triples, and trails current teammate Suzie Barns by eight for the school record in runs scored.
And she’s doing all this in her first year in the lineup.
“I don’t think you ever expect this kind of performance, especially this kind of consistent performance, from a young player,” Arendsen said. “And the thought of knowing that there’s still three more seasons with Jenn is pretty exciting.”
Salling – a former member of the Canadian National Team who turned an invitation to play for the Canadian junior national team when she was 15 and, according to the Coquitlam Now newspaper, was invited to try out for Simon Frasier University when she was just 13 – called that first at Oregon “one of the toughest adjustments I had to make.”
“Coming from home, playing every single game, being really crucial to the team, then coming here and sitting out, it was tough,” said Salling, who sat behind then-senior shortstop Breanne Sabol. “I definitely don’t regret it. I’ve grown a lot from it.”
That growth is evident this season. She’s batting .750 through five conference games and has been honored twice as Pac-10 Player of the Week. Most recently, Salling earned a spot on the list of 25 candidates for the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, one of the top honors in the sport.
The No. 10 Ducks are currently 37-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference. They were 19-3 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10 at this point last season.
She’s proved a consistent component to Oregon’s success this season both from the plate and defensively at shortstop as well. The Ducks lead the conference with a .977 fielding percentage and 24 double plays. Salling leads the conference with 111 assists. Arendsen said Salling is “as strong as any shortstop that I’ve ever seen.”
Salling is also delivering offensively for Oregon when it matters most, with a streak of 11 straight games with at least one RBI and 14 multiple-RBI games.
“I have to say Jenn has been the most consistent in the third spot,” said Barnes, the senior second baseman and four-year starter, who has been in position for many of Salling’s RBIs with a team-leading 31 stolen bases and a school-record 50 runs.
When asked if she’s ever had a freshman be this productive and consistent, Arendsen reached back in her memory bank.
“Not at Oregon, definitely not. But at Mississippi State, I had three players who were first-team All-America players, who had very successful freshman years,” Arendsen said. “Comparing to them as freshmen, (Jenn’s) ahead of them.”
Those three players? One was Kellie Wilkerson, a four-time All-American; another was Keri McCallum, the Division I catcher of the year in 2000; and the other was Iyhia McMichael, the runner-up for college player of the year in her final season.
That’s pretty good company for Salling.
“They’re all very accomplished players,” Arendsen said. “But Jenn, right now, where she’s at, and if she maintains this kind of career…she’ll be without a doubt the best.”
Salling said she didn’t anticipate such a breakout season in her first year in the lineup. Then again, given her accomplished past, it doesn’t surprise her either.
“I didn’t know (my numbers) were going to be this high,” Salling said. “But I wouldn’t say it’s a fluke. I’ve worked hard to get the numbers I’ve had.”
Salling and the Ducks have another Pac-10 test this weekend beginning today against No. 12 Washington, with two against No. 14 UCLA on Saturday and Sunday. For Salling, playing the Huskies is also an opportunity to reunite with former Canadian teammate and close friend Danielle Lawrie, the expected starting pitcher for Washington.
“I’m just going to try to not look at her face,” Salling said with a smile. “She’s going to make me laugh. We’re excited to play against each other.
“Danielle and I don’t talk trash. We respect each other’s abilities so much.”
Lawrie and Salling first met while competing in club ball in Canada before later joining teams. While the dream of playing together again in college never materialized, Salling said she likes the fact the two remain fairly close, even if they are at rivals schools.
“I think people are going to be fired up to watch these at bats,” Arendsen said.
And it’s another challenge for Salling against Washington and UCLA to show the rest of the country’s best conferences that she’s one of the country’s best players.
“I love softball… I just love how competitive it is,” Salling said. “It’s kind of scary how much I love it.”
It’s pretty scary for opponents, too.
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