Just four months after their magical College World Series was run cut short by No. 1 California, Oregon is back to work on the softball diamond.
The Ducks topped the Beavers twice — first 4-1, then 9-4 — in Saturday’s doubleheader in Corvallis. The exhibition tuneups counted for one of three doubleheaders the Ducks will play this autumn before the regular season begins in February.
In the weekend’s first Civil War matchup, All-American pitcher Jessica Moore picked up right where she left off last season. The senior from Sutter, Calif., held the Beavers to one run en route to getting the win. She finished last year 33-15, and her 73 career wins are tied with former Duck Katie Wiese for the all-time career school record. Moore was also a force at the plate, knocking in a home run in the second contest.
Fellow All-American Samantha Pappas also played well, going 2 for 4 and plating two runs in the first game. The senior outfielder hit 11 home runs last year and has 30 in her career, good for seventh-best all-time.
While the seniors led the way, the Ducks also got a look at the future.
Freshman utility player Koral Costa went 1 for 1 with an RBI in her collegiate debut before going 2 for 4 with two RBI in the second match. Her contribution this year will be just one part of the Ducks’ seven-person recruiting class. With the exception of Hawaii-born infielder Karine Shaver, all seven recruits are California natives, and four of them are ranked Top 100 by ESPN.com. Costa was ranked No. 63, catcher Janelle Lindvall No. 9, infielder Danica Mercado No. 27 and pitcher Cheridan Hawkins No. 29.
Costa and Lindvall were also teammates on the So Cal Firecrackers.
The influx of Californians on the roster is proof head coach Mike White is having success recruiting in the talent-rich pools of Southern California. In fact, Hillsboro-native Alyssa Gillespie and Salemite Alexa Peterson are the only Oregonians on a team more than half Californian.
The result has been a return to relevance for Oregon. In the notoriously difficult Pac-12, his team found itself playing into June last year. Now in his fourth year, he hopes Costa and the rest of Oregon’s young talent will build on the momentum Moore and Pappas helped generate last year when the Ducks finished the year ranked fifth nationally.
In its next exhibition doubleheader, Oregon hosts Corban. First pitch is slated for Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at Howe Field.