Season Preview: Outfield
02/05/18 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks return two starters in Alexis Mack and Shannon Rhodes, and have several candidates to replace Danica Mercado in right field.
The third-ranked Oregon softball team opens the 2018 season on Thursday against Georgia at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., plays its home opener March 8 against Toledo and begins Pac-12 play on March 16 against UCLA. GoDucks.com will break down the Ducks' pitchers, infield, outfield and lineup in the coming days, to prepare fans for another run to OKC.
OUTFIELD
Who's back: OF Alexis Mack, Jr.; OF Cherish Burks, Jr.; UT Darya Kaboli-Nejad, Jr.; OF Shannon Rhodes, So.; OF Haley Cruse, So.
Breakdown: The Ducks return two-thirds of their starting outfield from the 2017 Women's College World Series team, including left fielder Alexis Mack and center fielder Shannon Rhodes. In right, the graduation of Danica Mercado creates a hole that could be filled by a number of candidates, to be worked out over the coming weeks as the Ducks open the season. But the speed of Mack in left and the presence of an emerging star in Rhodes in center provide a solid foundation entering the season.
Rhodes provides the unique combination of a power bat with the athleticism to hold her own in center field. She might not have quite the range of the stereotypical center fielder, but she's making up for it by learning the intricacies of positioning and routes to the ball that come with experience. "She's just getting better and better in center field," UO coach Mike White said. "She's really showing she can command that position." As a freshman, Rhodes fielded 51 outs while committing four errors, and experience should help her improve on those numbers this spring.
The Ducks also converted Mack to a full-time outfielder, from the infield. Her blazing speed makes her a natural for the leadoff spot and also enhances her range in the outfield. White said Mack also has the intangibles necessary to continue thriving at a new spot. "Consistency, hard work, effort – just all those good things you like to see," the UO coach said. Off the bench, junior Cherish Burks provides an aggressive approach as a pinch runner, and could play herself into more at-bats by demonstrating more consistency in the preseason.
Sophomore Haley Cruse opened the coaching staff's eyes with her development at the plate in the fall, and again during the foreign tour to New Zealand in December. She could pick up some at-bats backing up Mack in left for the second year in a row, or perhaps even in a more prominent role in right. "I think she's a real possibility for some playing time," White said. Like Cruse, Darya Kaboli-Nejad turned some heads with her hitting in the fall, potentially earning a look in the outfield this spring.
Who's new: UT Shaye Bowden, Fr.; UT Lauren Burke, Fr.
Breakdown: White also likes the potential of two freshmen with backgrounds in the infield, Shaye Bowden and Lauren Burke. Bowden will be a backup all around the infield, but her bat plays well enough that White could give her a look in the outfield, too. Ditto Lauren Burke, a Eugene native who played infield in high school but practiced in the outfield after enrolling at Oregon. "She's doing well out there," White said. "I think her arm strength and range got a lot better in the fall."
