If past precedence holds true — and in collegiate softball there is a tendency for history to repeat itself — then a team’s pitcher is the key to whether or not a club finds success in the postseason.
For Oregon, that fastball — or rise ball, as the case may be — falls in the glove and on the shoulder of the Ducks’ everything-but-an-ace Ani Nyhus.
Nyhus, the blond-haired wonder who started 29 of Oregon’s 57 games this season, carried the Ducks throughout most of the Pacific-10 Conference season.
“I think that there is going to be pressure there for me to step up right now,” Nyhus said at the team’s practice Monday. “I think it’s going to be good pressure though, I don’t see it as anything that is going to take me off my game.”
Since the early days of the season, Nyhus has been the local media darling, with feature stories about her written by local newspapers and television stations calling about her every two weeks. While she nervously fidgets in front of the camera, when they say “thank you,” she breathes a sigh of relief, turns back to the bullpen and resumes practice with her catcher, Amie Morris.
Nyhus doesn’t mind the attention all that much, but she would be happier just pitching. But she really doesn’t like being called the staff’s “ace.”
However, when it comes to postseason play, facts are facts. Nyhus has thrown 175 2/3 innings this season and has faced 637 batters. Senior Anissa Meashintubby and sophomore Amy Harris combined for numbers only slightly higher than Nyhus’ — 187 1/3 innings and 685 batters. Lefty Lindsey Kontra rounds out the Oregon staff, facing 100 batters in 26 1/3 innings thrown.
“The thing about our team is that we have so much depth in our pitching staff,” Nyhus said. “Like (pitching coach Mike White) keeps saying, no matter what, one day it could be someone else that just steps up and has the big couple weeks where they’re just really on.
“I hope that it’s me. I hope that I can step up this week and that I can really produce for our team because I think that’s something that I need to do, for myself too. I think that’s the benefit of having such a strong pitching staff. “
The depth of Oregon’s pitching staff was pushed in the final two weeks of Pac-10 play. Nyhus, who was on a roll early in the season, seemed ineffective against Arizona and Arizona State, California and Stanford the second time around. Oregon was 1-5 in those final games.
“I’m disappointed with the last couple weeks,” Nyhus said. “My inconsistency is really frustrating me. I’ll go and throw a good game against Stanford and then I’ll turn around the next day and just not have my stuff at all. It’s frustrating right now.”
Nyhus, who spent the past two years playing at Central Arizona College, picked up her 10th conference victory in Oregon’s 10th conference win — the lone victory of those six games, a 1-0 defeat of Stanford.
The Ducks, who want to put the past two weeks behind them, are determined to find success in Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend. They know there are lessons to be learned from every game this season, but for now they just want to play.
As for Nyhus, she wants to see her new home succeed as well. As with most pitchers, the pressure will not faze her. Instead, she will use it to fuel her game.
“It could be any of us (that steps up),” Nyhus said. “I hope it’s me. I’m sure Amy hopes it’s her, Anissa hopes it’s her and Lindsey hopes it’s her. It’s one of those things where we’ll see where it goes.”