It’s been a while since Janie Takeda took the field at Howe. This weekend she’ll be back for the No. 2 Ducks.
Takeda was cleared by doctors to play offense this weekend against No. 19 Arizona State, who comes to Eugene for a three-game series starting Friday at 1 p.m. All three games will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
The Sun Devils are coming after a split in a doubleheader against New Mexico State on Monday and a sweep against UTEP on Tuesday.
Takeda said she hoped to run the bases and play live BP during Thursday’s practice. She collided with a fellow teammate in the fourth inning of the Ducks’ March 28 game against Washington. Head coach Mike White said defensively, she’s probably “a couple weeks away” from playing.
“Zero percent head-first slides,” Takeda said. “I’m planning on playing this summer, so I have a long road ahead before I could think about getting it fixed again,” Takeda said.
She said she plans to play for the U.S. National Team this summer.
This year, the Sun Devils won’t have pitcher Dallas Escobedo in the circle, who graduated after last season. Takeda described her as “the face” of ASU softball. Escobedo now plays professional for the NPF Pennsylvania Rebellion.
“I think part of us are glad that she’s not here, but you can never take anybody lightly,” Takeda said. “Those pitchers are at ASU for a reason. It’s a different approach, but no more of a letdown.”
Oregon is coming off a series win against No. 10-ranked UCLA in Los Angeles, where the Ducks exploded for two grand slams in the final game of the series, 10-0.
“They’re very powerful, offensively,” head coach Mike White said of ASU. “They’ve got some good numbers and we’ve got to get to their pitching and score runs. That’s the secret.”
Cherdain Hawkins struggled in last Saturday’s game, but White feels confident he will be able to reinstall confidence in his ace.
“We’re going to work hard on Cheridan coming out with an aggressive approach this weekend,” White said. “Try to not be as timid as she was that first day against UCLA.”
In the second game of the series, the Ducks play at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.