Oregon Softball: Ducks Face Ranked Competition This Weekend
The Oregon Ducks are 5-0 to start the season and enter the weekend with the ninth best batting average in the country.
Oregon Softball is batting .389 as a team thanks in part to a talented Freshman class along with Leadoff Hitter Haley Cruse who led the way with her bat last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic. There were just a handful of times she was not able to get on base helping Oregon to some early season confidence-building wins. This weekend, the competition steps up a notch with three ranked opponents on the schedule.
The Ducks face 8th ranked LSU, 23rd ranked James Madison, Florida Atlantic and close out the weekend with a team they are familiar with in 18th ranked Kentucky. (The Ducks have sent the Wildcats home in the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons)
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Pitchers Jordan Dail and Maddie MacGrandle led in the circle last weekend. Defensively, Oregon committed just one error for the weekend. With a young team, anytime you can get out of trouble and not allow a mistake to snowball into something bigger, is a good thing. The error was not even committed by any of the trio of Freshman in the infield, but by Pitcher Jordan Dail.
Shaye Bowden has found her Offense early and is leading the team in hitting. She is batting .500 in 18 at-bats for Oregon so far and she knows the competition this week will be tougher. Bowden, one of a handful of players still with Oregon from last season said she appreciates the ‘grit’ she is seeing from the younger players.
It is that ‘grit’ that will get them through this weekend with the best possible outcome. Oregon has played relaxed so far this season. They will be tested early with a matchup with LSU Friday morning at 9:30 am to open the St Pete./Clearwater Elite Invitational. (SEC Network)