After playing in four consecutive road tournaments to open season, the Oregon women’s softball team (14-5) will finally get the chance to play its first home games of the year when it hosts Boise State and North Dakota at Howe Field on Saturday afternoon.
Boise State (3-11) and North Dakota (3-10) will open the weekend road swing against Oregon State in Corvallis on Friday afternoon, before making the trek to Eugene for two games on Saturday and two more on Sunday.
This weekend will also conclude the Broncos’ 19-game road opener, which has been less than memorable, as they’ve dropped to 0-6 in true away games this season. North Dakota has experienced similar struggles early on, hitting only .232 as a team, while every pitcher holds an ERA of more than seven.
“I don’t think we’ve seen very much (of them),” sophomore pitcher Samantha Skillingstad said. “We’ve looked at a few of their charts, and we know a few of their hitters.”
Skillingstad was exactly right. In fact, Oregon has never matched up with North Dakota before, while the Boise State program is only in its second year of reinstated existence. The Ducks aren’t taking either opponent lightly, though the majority of the squad is just excited to finally be back in Eugene.
“Since I’m a freshman, this is like my first experience for actual season here,” freshman Allie Burger said. “I’m very excited.”
“It’s our home,” Skillingstad added. “It’s what we practice on; it’s what we live for.”
Burger will be one of a handful of freshmen making their first official appearances at Howe Field, but they have already proven they can be productive no matter the location.
Freshman right fielder Samantha Pappas is currently tied for second in the Pacific-10 Conference with 28 hits and ranks third in total bases with 52.
Junior first baseman Monique Fuiava and Pappas are tied for fourth in the conference with six doubles, pacing the Oregon squad that has tallied a conference-leading 33 doubles on the year.
With little familiarity of Boise State and North Dakota, first-year head coach Mike White said a relaxed approach at the plate would benefit the Ducks in the early going.
“We go on the fly the first time through the order,” he said. “Take a look, and make adjustments that way.
“If we’re patient with their pitching, then we’ll score runs.”
Scoring runs comes that much easier when you’ve got a trio of stellar pitchers doing the work defensively. Skillingstad (3-3), freshman Jessica Moore (6-2) and junior lefty Brittany Rumfelt (3-0) have handled the majority of the pitching duties up to this point in the season, tallying the second-best team ERA in the Pac-10 at 1.59. The staff also ranks second with 150 strikeouts, trailing league leader California at 175, with Moore accounting for 85 fanned batters of her own.
“She’s just more mature,” Skillingstad said of Moore. “Her pitches have always been good, she’s just developing more mentally.”
Burger agreed with Skillingstad, adding that her mental toughness is outwardly evident when she’s in the circle.
“She keeps her head up high,” Burger said. “And when things are down, I think out of all of them, she’s the most in control of her emotions.”
The Oregon pitchers ought to have a field day against the weaker opposing batting orders, though North Dakota’s Casie Hanson can’t be entirely blamed for the Fighting Sioux offensive woes this season. She’s hitting .410 with four home runs and eight RBIs, while scoring 14 of the teams 42 runs this year.
Boise State, however, has yet to score a run in the seventh inning in 14 games so far in 2010, giving a little extra hope to an already potent Oregon offense.

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