Since the 2018 season ended, Oregon softball has faced a tumultuous offseason in which it needed to replace its all-time winningest head coach, three starting pitchers and eight of the nine starting position players from last year’s No. 1 overall seed team in the Women’s College World Series.

This offseason, it was more of a shock if a player stayed than if they transferred. First-time head coach Missy Lombardi was forced to establish new on-field leaders while reshuffling the lineup.

The end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 were filled with plenty of bumps in the road for the Ducks — so many that they were picked to finish last in the Pac-12.

“We’ve kind of banded together as a group in the last few months,” sophomore utility player Shaye Bowden said. “We trust each other, and we work with each other, and we build off of each other; and I think freshman, sophomore or junior, it doesn’t matter at this point because we’re one.”

The one name that has stayed through it all is Haley Cruse. After playing sparingly her freshman season, Cruse hit major strides as she took control of the starting right field job last season.

Following an offseason in which nine former teammates transferred, Cruse could have easily followed suit. Rather than doing so, she decided to stay and lead the program from the ashes.

“I love everything about Oregon,” Cruse said. “To me, Oregon is so much more than just softball. It’s my teammates, it’s the fans, it’s the opportunities that I have outside of softball that really kept me here. I’m really excited to fight for this program.”

Cruse, a self-described leader by example, was forced to change her mindset this season. With five freshmen in the lineup, it became essential for her to become more vocal and confrontational this season.

“I had to step into a leadership role this year, which, coming from a team of All-Americans, I was not expecting,” Cruse said. “I was just gonna keep my head down and keep playing. Being thrown into this leadership role has really been a life-changing experience, and I am really thankful for it and excited for the new challenge.”

Although Cruse is the perfect leader by example with her hustle, defensive skills in center field and ability to hit leadoff, third and fourth in the Oregon lineup, she is not the only commander in the locker room.

Seniors outfielder Cherish Burks and catcher April Utecht have jumped at their first real opportunities to get in the lineup, joining Cruse as leaders for Oregon softball. The two had a combined 12 career starts prior to this season. In 2019, they have started all 24 games thus far.

“They’ve helped me step into this leadership role a little bit more because they’ve also been thrown into the same role [as me],” Cruse said. “It’s been helpful being able to communicate with them and for them to help me communicate better. I’m not the most vocal person on the field, but I will do my best to change that.”

Bowden joins Utecht, Burks and Cruse as the only non-freshman starter.

Bowden is second on the team with 21 hits and tied for first with 16 RBIs. She is also the team’s first Pac-12 Player of the Week thanks to her performance in the Mary Nutter Classic.

“I know that I have to step up to the plate and kind of just lead this team by showing them what Oregon softball is and teaching them the ways around this program,” Bowden said. “That’s really the only way I can. I think leading by example and showing that this is just a game and it’s fun — we’ve just got to play like that.”

Even though Bowden carries a great deal of value in her leadership and offensive skills, her versatility and will to win might be her most important traits. She has been the captain of the infield, starting behind the plate 15 times while also spending time at second base, first base, right field and one as the designated player. In an emergency, Bowden is capable of playing all over the diamond.

“What’s best for the team is where they put me,” Bowden said. “If they put me at second, that’s where I need to play; if they put me behind the plate, that’s where I need to play.”

Although veterans who have experienced the grind of a collegiate season are important, leading is not limited to returners.

“I think it’s important for us as a team that we have emerging leaders,” Lombardi said. “That everybody understands that there’s gonna be a moment where they need to take on the leadership and to trust that they can do it, and that we believe in them as well.”

Ace sophomore pitcher Jordan Dail credits the four returners for the work they have done on and off the field but also sees a lot of initiative in the freshman class.

“They’re freshmen and everyone thinks they’re not gonna be leaders, but every single person on this team is a leader,” Dail said. “I think they’ve done a tremendous job in stepping into the shoes they need to step into and kind of supporting each other.”

Third baseman Rachel Cid, second baseman Allee Bunker, shortstop Jasmine Sievers, first baseman Hannah Galey and right fielder Lexi Wagner are the freshmen stepping up thus far. There have been struggles, yet they have produced well given the situation they were forced into.

“It’s been really great knowing that there’s a lot of freshmen starting and we have a key role to play,” Cid, the Pac-12 freshman of the first week, said. “We can’t come out playing like freshmen, we have to just play our game.”

As far as postseason outlook, and despite some hiccups along the way, the team remains focused toward achieving the same thing they have every season: winning.

“Everyone’s expectations are the same,” Utecht said. “We want the same goal at the end. It’s just staying with them and going forth.”

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack