In Sunday afternoon’s game three of the NCAA regional opening round, Oregon coach Mike White elected to pull his ace in the sixth, just one inning away from the Ducks’ second-consecutive Super Regional berth.
Starter Jessica Moore had thrown two gems in games one and two — including an 11-strikeout performance against Fordham the day before — and appeared to be withering away late in the weekend. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4374&SPID=245&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205153930@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/416690.htm?ATCLID=205153696&SPSID=4374&SPID=245&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
White called upon Brittany Rumfelt to finish the contest, but a short relief effort quickly turned sour when Rumfelt walked a batter to load the bases, and Moore was quickly reinserted.
Rumfelt, who was named the Pacific-10 Conference pitcher of the week for three-hitting the UCLA Bruins the week prior, returned to the dugout, and Moore got two quick ground balls to get out the jam unharmed. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205152325@@
Oregon went on to win its second regional tournament in as many years, and now have a date set with the No. 4 Florida Gators in Gainesville. For Moore (24-9), a difficult challenge on the road is always welcome. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4376&SPID=245&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205056983@@
“To me, I go out there and want to put a hole in the line, because they’re at home,” Moore said after the game three win on Sunday. “So when you beat them it’s that much more tough to do.”
The Sutter, Calif., native has been the horse that’s carried the Oregon softball team to such great heights in her first two seasons with the program, which comes as no surprise given her prep resume.
During Moore’s senior season at Sutter High School she was simply untouchable. In leading Sutter to a 34-0 record — each of the 34 victories credited to Moore — she tossed 18 no-hitters along with 29 shutouts. In 210 innings pitched, she allowed 24 hits and struck out 504 batters, with a 0.17 ERA. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204763349@@
And yes, she also hit .505 at the plate with eight home runs and 44 RBI.
Among White’s first jobs when he took over for Kathy Arendsen in late 2009 was to assure the incoming recruiting class of high school seniors — Moore, Allie Burger, Samantha Pappas, and Kaylan Howard — were still committed to the Ducks. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=22351@@
“I had been to a pitching camp with Jess and worked with Jess a little bit, so she knew me from that,” White said. “And I had a pretty good resume for a pitching coach so I think that gave her some confidence to stick around.”
Now in her second year with the Ducks, Moore developed into one of the most consistent pitchers in the Pac-10, in helping Oregon to a third-place finish in the conference standings, its second-best finish ever. @@http://www.pac-10.org/portals/7/images/softball/stats/HTML/lgsumm.htm@@
“I think Jessica’s just more focused now,” senior Monique Fuiava said. “Earlier in the (Penn State) game, when that ball got by me, she looked at me and she said, ‘you have to get down on that ball.’ Beforehand, Jess would have just looked at me, shook her head, and just try and do it all by herself.”
Moore has earned the respect of her teammates over the past two seasons by continually keeping the Ducks in games, as the offense, and defense behind her, weren’t always as quick to catch up.
The Ducks have ironed out most of those issues in 2011, with a balanced offense and a more experienced defense backing Moore up.
Among the pitching staff, there’s no question Moore is the outright leader, despite being the youngest of the four in rotation. The sophomore pitched all 21 innings in Oregon’s three wins over the weekend, while tallying 25 strikeouts along the way.
Even when Moore hit a bump in that sixth inning, White never questioned whether his ace would be ready to return on a moment’s notice if something went haywire.
“I keep telling them it’s like a roller coaster,” White said. “It’s not always going to be a straight line, you’re not always going to be at the top, (and) you’re going to go through the peaks and valleys — just don’t get too high or too low.
“I know it’s a cliche, but it’s very true. This game is very humbling. You’ve got to respect the game.”
In matching up with a Florida team that’s tallied a 50-10 record on the year and a 24-4 bid at home, Moore and the Ducks will have plenty of peaks and valleys ahead of them as they work toward their first trip to the Women’s College World Series. @@http://www.gatorzone.com/softball/stats.php@@