It rained in Eugene on Tuesday.
Yes, this is akin to saying the sky is blue, but it was significant on Tuesday for another reason. The baseball team and pretty much every other spring sports team practiced inside at the Moshofsky Center.
The partition net was down, splitting the field in half, and for most of the afternoon the clink of metal bats and slap of leather meeting baseballs and softballs could be heard echoing throughout the gigantic structure. It was a pleasant sound, and in conjunction with the rain pounding on the roof far above head, it would have almost lulled me to sleep.
Almost.
Instead, I was focused on the demeanor of both the softball team and baseball team. I was curious to see how the teams practiced in lieu of recent events. You can glean a lot from just watching practice, and I was impressed.
The baseball team has arrived at the last weekend of the season with a (FILL IN THE RECORD AFTER TONIGHT’S GAME), and the Ducks need a good performance against California to cement a spot in NCAA Tournament. The pressure of making the playoffs this year is mounting, raised by the high-level of play Oregon continues to show every game. Some would argue that getting held out of the postseason wouldn’t be considered a failure at all, just look at where they came from, but I’ve spent enough time around this team the past two years to know it would be a crushing blow to miss a regional bid.
With the playoff push coming at the end of a 60-game season, I was amazed at watching the team practice Tuesday. With the cramped quarters they made do, practicing with efficiency that head coach George Horton demands. Then after they packed up, Horton talked for 30 minutes (this is actually quite short). No one knows what he talks about during these talks, but he’s become pretty famous for giving “chalk talks” before and after every practice, before and after every game, then again when they get on the bus and back to the hotel.
But I digress. The real telling sign came just after Horton wrapped up his pow wow. As players dispersed, shortstop KC Serna found a football tucked into a corner somewhere and started throwing it around with outfielder Curtis Raulinaitis. Second baseman Danny Pulfer and back up catcher Mitch Karraker wrestled a bit, and I saw a loose, confident team.
About the same time the baseball team was finishing up, the softball team had wrapped up its practice and pitchers along with a few other players stayed around to throw. The girls loosened up their arms even more, and after a bit left-handed pitcher Brittany Rumfelt started throwing a bullpen to a catcher.
Serna, along with a good portion of the team that didn’t immediately leave, eventually ended up on the softball side of the field, and he stood in as a batter. He didn’t have a bat, but he pretended, as Rumfelt threw pitch after pitch. Then Pulfer got his turn at catcher, and both teams laughed as Rumfelt threw one up and in to pitcher Tyler Anderson, who spun out of the way.
It was a great scene, and one that I hope the baseball team remembers because it’s the softball team that they can take a few lessons from. Because Mike White and his team have proved that losers can make the postseason and win. His unseeded team went 3-0 in the Atlanta Regional to move on to a Super Regional against Missouri that starts this weekend.
The softball team has laid down the challenge, saying, “We did it, now it’s your turn.” 
It won’t be easy for Oregon, but not impossible. Assuming they make it to a regional, they will have the benefit of one of the top pitching staffs in the nation, as well as having played in the rough Pacific-10 Conference. The Ducks have three wins over No. 1 teams, and they have seven wins over current teams ranked in the top 25.
The Ducks proven they can win both at home and on the road against the best. Now it’s time to transcend from a new program, with foundations that are still taking root in the ground, to a team that is fully capable of putting together a run and making a deep postseason push.
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