One of the best compliments a softball player can get regarding their offensive prowess is being known as a “triple threat.” After the first 15 games this season, those words are continuing to apply to Courtney Ceo.
“She is a true triple threat: drop the drag bunt, vary her slap and hit with power,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “She’s in her senior year and she really wants to have a great year. We’re excited to have her playing really well.”
Ceo leads the Ducks with a .526 batting average, .116 percentage points better than her career best she set last year as a junior. Not only is she leading the Ducks in batting average, she has been the catalyst of an offense that’s hitting .331 as a team while averaging 6.47 runs per game en route to a 17-2 start and 3-1 record against the top 25.
What has allowed Ceo to stay consistent throughout this hitting tear has been her ability to stay true to her philosophy as a hitter: “Keep it simple.”
“When I have trouble is when I start thinking about all different kinds of things: start guessing about balls and strikes,” Ceo said. “This year for me, it’s just another game, just another at-bat – I’m going to have another at-bat and if I don’t get the job done now, I’ll get the job done later.”
Batting second in Oregon’s lineup, the left-hitting Ceo has amassed 30 hits on the season with three doubles, one triple, two homeruns and three walks. The walks are the especially telling stat for the senior because it shows that she has the discipline at the plate to not waste at-bats and take a walk when necessary.
In part of her hot start to the season, Ceo was impressive over the final three games of Oregon’s opening season tournament. She went a stunning 10-for-11 over those final three games, including tying an Oregon single-game record with five hits in the game against North Carolina State.
As a four-year starter, Ceo’s hitting prowess can be tracked back to her first season in the green and yellow when she batted .355 as a freshman, proving early on that she was ready for college softball. That average continued to rise as she hit .378 during a injury-riddled sophomore season but came back for a healthy junior season where she batted .410, thus culminating in a career average of .382 entering this year.
Ceo’s start to the season didn’t come as a surprise to White or the rest of the Oregon softball staff as they remember that she was the team’s best offensive player throughout the Ducks’ postseason run last year. Through the six games Oregon played in the NCAA Tournament, Ceo batted a team-high .556 (10-for-18) with four runs scored and two RBI’s, thus setting up her fourth and final season as a Duck.
“I’ve been through this process for three years previously so I’m comfortable with where I’m at now as a senior,” Ceo said.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka