There were some lofty goals set in the beginning.
Some of them were met, some were not.
But overall, the Oregon softball season was a success as the No. 19 Ducks made their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals, falling one game short of the coveted College World Series.
If it were not for All-American Courtney Blades of Southern Mississippi, Oregon would have made only its second trip to the CWS in school history.
“We definitely should have gone,” senior Jill Robinson said. “When things don’t turn out the way you wanted, you have a tendency to look back at them as a failure. But I don’t think that our season was a failure.”
Taking a look back over the season in which the Ducks finished 36-29 overall, it can definitely be seen as a season of records and streaks.
Robinson and fellow departing seniors Lindsey Welch and Andrea Gustafson left their marks in the Oregon record books. All three were named to the honorable mention All-Pacific-10 Conference team.
Sophomore pitcher Connie McMurren joined the seniors on the honorable mention All-Conference team. Missy Coe and Triawn Custer were named to the All-Conference second team.
Robinson etched her name atop both the single-season and career home run categories.
Her 15 four-baggers pushed her ahead of Katie Mackey for most in one season and her 33 career total puts her two ahead of Kathy Stahl.
“You come in as a freshman and say ‘I can get up there,’” Robinson said. “I’m glad that I broke these records because I worked hard.”
Along with her home run accomplishments, Robinson found herself in the top-ten of four other career categories. She is sitting second with 35 doubles, one ahead of Welch’s 34. Robinson’s 224 hits are good enough for third, while Welch’s 212 base-knocks puts her in fourth.
Welch and Robinson are also 1-2 in runs batted in. Welch’s 145 ribbies are No. 1, while Robinson’s 136 are second all-time. Robinson is No. 1 in career at-bats as well with 762.
The three seniors will leave a gaping hole in the program on and off the field. But McMurren is confident that the trio of freshmen who saw significant time this season are ready to step up their play next season and fill the shoes of the departed leaders.
“You can’t replace the seniors because both on and off the field they were leaders,” McMurren said. “But the freshmen showed that they will be important for us next year. It’s important that this year’s class got the experience of the Pac-10. My class was in a similar situation a year ago and I could see the confidence between the two years.”
One of the freshman that epitomized the idea of what experience and confidence will do for her game was pitcher/outfielder Andrea Vidlund. Coming in as a highly-touted recruit, Vidlund had the look of a stunned deer in the headlights early on. As the season wore on, she gained more confidence from competing at the Pac-10 level.
“That experience was tremendous,” head coach Rick Gamez said. “I think Viddy was scared in the beginning, but she gained that confidence and was huge for us in the end.”

Vidlund’s pitching record showed her growth throughout the season. Her 17-8 record was the best on the team and she pitched some important games down the stretch.
Oregon will welcome four new faces next season and Gamez is very pleased with the class that features two transfers and two freshman.
Shortstop Kate Peterson from Utah and outfielder Lisa Wangler are the freshmen.
Kristi Hall from Sacramento and Lindsey Heij from Texas Tech round out the class as the transfers.