Josh Kasevich and the Oregon Ducks baseball team returned home on March 9, 2020, after finishing off a three-game series against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors with a 13-2 win. Kasevich and his teammates soaked in the sweet victory and began to prepare for a series with the No. 4 UCLA Bruins.
That series never happened.
The Ducks’ remaining schedule was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kasevich, like his teammates, returned home for what would be the longest offseason of his baseball career.
Although the Ducks took home a victory in their final game, Kasevich left Eugene with a bitter taste in his mouth. Throughout his freshman campaign, he was unable to find his stride as he hit .135 and started nine of the Ducks’ 14 games at third base.
“It’s baseball, everyone has slumps,” Kasevich said. “But, the 2020 season was the first time I really struggled for such a long time, and that was hard to deal with.”
He was right: Even the best ball players go through ebbs and flows at the plate. However, Kasevich’s slump transcended his struggles in the batter’s box. In fact, it goes back to the summer before his senior season at Palo Alto High School.
Kasevich was invited to a showcase in Northern California where he began to attract scholarship offers after an impressive pitching performance. When his senior season started, Kasevich continued to impress college scouts. He posted a 5-1 record and led the Vikings with 40 innings pitched and 48 strikeouts.
When he wasn’t on the mound, Kasevich would start at shortstop. In more than 30 games, he hit .407 and led his team with 35 hits.
The Ducks were drawn to his versatility and offered Kasevich a full scholarship as a two-way player. His ability to field, hit and pitch got him to the Division 1 level, but that versatility began to hinder Kasevich.
“In the fall, I would split time with the pitchers and hitters,” Kasevich said. “Some days, I wouldn’t get as much time to pitch or hit. I felt like it was too much to split and I wasn’t focusing enough on one.”
Kasevich started the first two games against Hawaii in the Ducks’ final series of the season. His slump continued as he failed to tally a base hit in either game. As he was preparing to start the final game of the series, he received devastating news.
Lorraine Larson, his grandmother, had passed away.
“Josh was pretty close with his grandma,” said Kasevich’s dad, Mark. “He was devastated with her loss.”
His coaches noticed something was off. After hearing of the tragedy, they made the decision to hold Kasevich out of Sunday’s game.
“The coaches went out of their way to have conversations with Josh,” Mark said.
Dealing with the loss of his grandma was an unexpected obstacle. Her loss coincided with what felt like a never-ending slump and the abrupt conclusion to Kasevich’s freshman season. His world was turned upside down.
Kasevich returned home for the offseason not knowing when he would see the plate next. He sat with his family, eating dinner and playing hearts, as they did most nights during quarantine.
As his dad dealt the cards, Kasevich’s mind began to wander, fixating on the chain of travesties he had recently endured. In that moment, he made it his mission to use these obstacles as fuel to improve as a player.
“I want to play for [my grandma] because she was always a huge fan,” Kasevich said. “Losing her and going through my slump motivated me and gave me a reason to push harder and get better.”
When Kasevich is in a slump he tends to simplify his swing and go back to what’s comfortable. Comfort meant being at home with his parents and dedicating himself to his offseason workout routine.
Kasevich’s workout routine would span six to eight hours each day. He would wake up and work out; then hit, field and throw; then finish off the day with another workout; then go to sleep and repeat the next day.
Mark said he had never seen his son dedicate himself to baseball like he did during his time back at home. Kasevich returned to campus stronger than he had left.
Leaves flooded the infield as Kasevich and his teammates returned to fall practice. Nestled between Gavin Grant and Sam Novitske, Kasevich felt at home fielding ground balls at shortstop during drills.
He stopped splitting time between pitching, fielding and hitting, dedicating himself to shortstop.
“It was always his dream to play infield,” Mark said.
As the season rolled around, his constant focus on the new role began to pay off. Kasevich hit .328 throughout the month of March and started every game at shortstop. As the Ducks faced the Arizona Wildcats for their final game of the month, Kasevich had an explosive day at the plate. He had three singles, driving in two runs in the process.
Opposing pitchers have yet to find ways to cool him down as he’s currently hitting .291 and is second on the team with 35 RBIs. Most impressively, Kasevich is one of only four Ducks to have started in all 41 games this season.
Fueled by the memory of his grandma, Josh Kasevich put his freshman slump in the rearview mirror and became an anchor in the Ducks’ lineup.
