If ever Oregon wanted to make a name for itself in Pacific-10 Conference softball, now would be the time.
With a 3-1 start, the No. 14 Ducks are third in the Pac-10, right behind Arizona and Washington, and playing with the confidence of a team that has done this before.
This? What is this?
This is making a mark.
This is Oregon reminding the conference and the country that there are more teams than those that practice in California and Arizona.
This is the Ducks making it known that they will be going to an NCAA Regional tournament in May.
This is Oregon trying to not get swept by any Pac-10 team for just the second time in conference history.
This is the Ducks looking for a conference record above .500 for the first time since 1989.
It’s a difficult thing to do in the Pac-10. Oregon has finished the season with a .500 conference record three times — 1990, 1993 and 1994 — and above .500 once, in 1989. Last season, when the Ducks finished tied for third in the Pac-10, they were 10-11 in the conference.
This isn’t your average 3-1 start, either. All three teams — then-No.16 Oregon State, then-No. 3 California and then-No. 11 Stanford — were ranked ahead of Oregon when the teams played.
Perhaps the biggest win — although an argument could easily be made for each of the three — was Friday’s 4-0 victory at California. The Ducks hadn’t won a game in Berkeley since 2000.
“It always feels good to beat Cal,” Oregon catcher Jenn Poore said. “Or any of those teams. It felt really good (Friday) because it felt like, for once, we had everything together. Our defense was playing well, we had pitching and we had offense.”
If Oregon keeps everything together, the Ducks will be one of the feared teams when the time comes for regional tournaments.
For now, Oregon is still working to gain respect from other Pac-10 schools. Even after last season’s third-place finish, the Ducks were unanimously picked to finish eighth in the eight-team conference in the preseason coaches poll.
No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 UCLA remain at the top of the national standings, despite UCLA losing two during the weekend. Both losses were to the Wildcats. California dropped a whopping one spot to No. 4 after losing to Oregon and splitting with Oregon State.
Washington, which is tied for first in Pac-10 standings, is No. 7 nationally, while Stanford stayed at No. 11. Oregon State remained, literally, one step behind the Ducks, moving up to No. 15.
Arizona State fell victim to the rare occurrence of a Pac-10 team being left out of the top 25. The Sun Devils are two spots — and two points — out of No. 25.
This is the reason Oregon gets the recognition that it does. But the drawback is the Pac-10 is so heavily loaded with good teams that when upsets happen, there is little movement in the polls.
The best thing that will come out of Oregon’s 3-1 start, and its 2-1 weekend in California, is confidence.
“Coming out strong with those two wins was really important, especially against those two teams,” Poore said. “Our confidence is pretty high. We took two out of three games from big teams.”
How’s that for making a name for themselves?