Every collegiate team loses something each offseason. It’s not unusual to have seniors graduate and have players transfer for one reason or another.
But this offseason has been anything but normal for the Oregon softball team, after seeing its head coach Mike White leave for the same position at the University of Texas, followed by five of its top players.
“Everyone handles change differently, and they were used to one style of coaching and playing and they liked that style,” outfielder Haley Cruse said. “So they wanted to stick with it and everyone here supports and respects their decision.”
At the first official day of practice, head coach Melyssa Lombardi and several players spoke to media today at Jane Sanders Stadium, addressing the new atmosphere of the locker room, dealing with a loss of depth, the lineup and new pitching rotation.
There are several new faces are on the roster, but only 17 active players on the roster, which Lombardi will stick with but admitted it’s lower than the ideal 20-21 mark.
“We’re a couple shy, but what I like is that this team is versatile,” Lombardi said. “We have athletes who can play different positions, so even with our squad being a tad smaller I’m still very confident in what we have.”
With much of the power hitters gone from the lineup, the Ducks will rely on base-running and speed to power their offense.
Jasmine Sievers, a freshman shortstop, was Oregon’s highest ranked recruit in the class of 2018, at No.10 by FloSoftball, and will be in the starting lineup. While she wants to get people lose in the dugout, she knows how the team needs to come together after losing a lot of depth.
”I get really engaged, and everyone knows that I’m going to do what I need to do to get everyone and myself better,” Sievers said.
The Ducks have two left-handed transfers to play in the starting pitching rotation, Maddie MacGrandle and Jordan Dail. Lombardi believes both provide a skillset that will compliment Maggie Balint’s.
“With your top college athlete, they don’t swing at pitches outside the strike zone, so it’s important that you can move the ball in the strike zone and change speeds in the strike zone,” Lombardi said.
The team hopes the dominant performance in the fall will set the tone for the rest of the season. The Ducks went 8-0 while outscoring opponents 114-2.
“We can swing,” Lombardi said. “We have a young infield, and a lot of people keep asking if I’m nervous about that and I’m not. I’m confident in all of our athletes.”
The narrative of the season will be if the team can overcome the loss of its coach and top players, and return to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.
“It was definitely hard to see a lot of our teammates leave,” Cruse said. “But at the same time, everyone who wanted to stay is here right now. So we have to make sure, even though it is difficult losing a lot of teammates, we need to make sure we rally together.”
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