In the history of Pac-10/12 softball, only the UCLA Bruins had won four consecutive Pac-12 softball championships (1988-91).
Now they have company.
When Geri Ann Glasco caught the final out of Oregon softball’s 5-1 victory over Utah on May 12, the Ducks clinched their fourth consecutive Pac-12 title.
“It’s a really exciting moment for this team and I’m really excited that I get to do that here at Jane Sanders Stadium,” Cheridan Hawkins said. “This conference is hard to play in, and to be able to win four straight Pac-12 titles, that’s a huge thing.”
The win gave the original senior class, which includes Janelle Lindvall, Koral Costa, Stevie Jo Knapp and Hawkins, four outright Pac-12 championships in four years. Throughout the years, the Ducks added Jasmine Smithson-Willett, Hailey Decker and Glasco to the senior class. Alyssa Gillespie entered the Oregon program in 2012, but redshirted her freshman season, leaving the Ducks with eight graduating members.
“We’ve worked hard from the day we got here,” Hawkins said. “We want to make an impact, all eight of us, any way we can, and to help this team win a Pac-12 championship is awesome.”
Each member of the original four had a dramatic impact on Oregon’s program, starting with the highly touted Lindvall. She paved the way for other recruits, namely Costa and Hawkins, to come to Oregon.
“Janelle Lindvall was one of the first major recruits to get to come to the program — that was a major [kudos] for us to get Janelle,” Oregon head coach Mike White said. “When you get one or two good players, [recruits] wonder ‘Why did they go there?’ It kind of brings in other players and that’s what happened after we got Janelle.”
At the time, Lindvall had family ties to UCLA (her sister played for the Bruins) but opted to go to Oregon, signifying a shift in the dynamics of Pac-12 softball. Up to that point, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington and Cal were the top-tier programs in the conference.
“I grew up in a Pac-12 family — I really wanted to stay on the west coast and California didn’t seem like the best option at the time,” Lindvall said. “Oregon was the closest and I really liked that this program wasn’t living on past success and on the uprise — I wanted to be a part of that.”
During the departing seniors’ freshmen season, Oregon won its first Pac-12 championship, but ultimately fell short of the Women’s College World Series. The next two years, the Ducks reached the WCWS.
Although this season is no different for the seniors to win the conference championship and reach the WCWS, the goals have extended further than just getting to Oklahoma City. This year, the Ducks believe with their pitching and hitting depth, as well as experience, they will win the national championship.
“When we go to the World Series, there’s no surprise,” Costa said. “Our pitching will get us there, but we have to figure out our hitting to win it.”
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka