With the NCAA Regional Tournament right around the corner, the time comes for softball teams to wind down their regular seasons.
The 12th-ranked Ducks (37-17 overall, 9-9 Pacific-10 Conference) are on that trek now, with a single game against No. 7 Stanford at 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader against No. 2 California at 11 a.m. Saturday, both at Howe Field. Sunday’s regional selection show the only things standing between Oregon and the regional tournament.
Saturday’s doubleheader marks “Senior Day” for the Ducks, who will honor five players — California’s lone senior, Roni Rodrigues, Oregon seniors Julie Jaime, Anissa Meashintubby, Jenn Poore and Oregon junior Heather Munson — prior to Saturday’s first pitch.
“You always hate to say goodbye,” Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. “Four outstanding, wonderful young women. Without a doubt, this team will not be the same next year, just like we are not the same as we were last year. These young women have so much to be proud of — they are part of the legacy of who we are becoming.”
Poore, a career .260 batter coming into her senior campaign, leads the Ducks with a .323 batting average this season. She has started every game, batting primarily in the leadoff spot and catching Oregon’s pitchers.
“I’m going to be crying,” Poore said with a smile. “I’ll probably cry during the first inning or so, then I’ll get over it. Oh, but I have to play.”
“Jenn’s our crier,” Munson said. “It’s going to be pretty emotional for the seniors, Jenn and Anissa especially.”
Munson is in her second season with the Ducks, spending her days in the bullpen preparing Oregon’s pitchers. While a junior in eligibility, Munson will graduate this year and will not return for her final year of eligibility.
Meashintubby, a four-year pitcher for the Ducks, has put her name in multiple Oregon top-10 lists. She sits at No. 5 on Oregon’s career strikeouts list with 306.
Jaime, who transferred to Oregon after two years at Long Beach City College, is a solid utility player who has seen most of her action playing in the outfield this season. She was voted Most Inspirational by her teammates after the 2003 season.
“Just knowing that this will be the last few weeks of my career is pretty hard to swallow,” Jaime said. “There’s an extra fire. The fans will get into it; the fact that we will be on TV (Friday’s game) and our senior game — there will be a lot of emotion that will play into it, but you have to keep your composure, too.”
When the Ducks kicked off their Pac-10 road play against Stanford and California at the beginning of April, Oregon beat the Golden Bears, 4-0, and split two games with the Cardinal, 1-0 and 6-1.
“We’re looking to win the series off both,” Arendsen said. “We’re trying to build positive momentum going into the Regional and postseason.”
Sunday, the Ducks will host a viewing of the NCAA Regional Tournament selection show at the Pittman Room in the Casanova Center. The show begins at 5:30 p.m. while fans are encouraged to arrive by 5 p.m.