University of Oregon
Kentucky
Freshmen Unfazed By Postseason Stage
05/25/17 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
First-year players played big roles in last week's regional, helping the Ducks advance to Super Regionals at home against Kentucky on Friday (4 p.m., ESPNU).
The label of "No. 1" seems to suit the current class of Oregon softball freshmen.
A year after being ranked the top recruiting class in the country, the Ducks' freshmen have the team ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Softball. The UO softball team takes that designation into the start of Super Regional play against Kentucky at Jane Sanders Stadium on Friday (4 p.m., ESPNU), having advanced through the regional round thanks in no small part to the play of freshmen.
Freshman pitchers Maggie Balint and Miranda Elish each threw complete-game victories for Oregon in regional play last week, and Balint added a win in relief over Wisconsin in the regional final. The one game of the regional for the Ducks (50-6) that wasn't a run-rule win, also over the Badgers, featured a game-tying RBI double by freshman Shannon Rhodes in the seventh, before Elish scored the winning run in the eighth.
"Postseason brings out a whole new player," said Balint, recently named a finalist for the NFCA's freshman of the year award. "You're going to find the girl that's really confident under pressure, or you're going to find the girl that's questioning herself. … I'm really excited to see my classmates come out here and perform."
Balint has been among Oregon's most consistent players all season, allowing more than two earned runs in an appearance just twice. Elish and Rhodes, meanwhile, seem to be peaking at the right time, with Elish riding a streak of five straight scoreless appearances and Rhodes bringing a 15-game hitting streak into Friday's Super Regional opener.
Rhodes is hitting .523 during her hitting streak, having boosted that average with a 7-of-9 showing in the regional.
"My confidence level is so much higher than it was in the beginning," said Rhodes, who has also played a sparkling center field this spring.
Elish can relate, having not allowed an earned run in more than a month. She's learned to attack the corners of the plate and down in the strike zone, an approach that has paid off in 20 2/3 innings without an earned run allowed over her last five appearances.
That included a five-inning, rule-rule shutout of Wisconsin in the regional. Elish has experience in championship games at the club level, but nothing like the postseason environment at Jane Sanders Stadium this postseason, she said. Not that it's been a problem.
"I really try not to let pressure bother me," Elish said. "Especially when I have the defense and offense I have behind me, how could you? They're going to make the plays and get the big-time hits."
The postseason surge from the freshmen has been particularly welcome given some scuffling veterans, including senior shortstop Nikki Udria. Against Kentucky (39-17) this weekend, UO coach Mike White hopes to see Udria get hot, and the freshmen build off their successful postseason debut last weekend.
"We try not to make any game or games bigger than what they are," Elish said. "We know we have to play our game and do what we do, and we'll be fine."
The Ducks and Wildcats will be familiar foes, having faced off during the preseason earlier this spring.
Oregon beat Kentucky on Feb. 17, and needed a comeback to do so. The Wildcats led 4-1 before the Ducks rallied to tie it in the sixth, before winning 5-4 on a Udria homer in the seventh.
Neither starting pitcher finished the game, and the teams combined for three errors. "It was a good result in the end, but it was kind of a sloppy game," White said. "I think that's going to change."
Balint earned the win in relief that day, despite allowing two wins in three innings. She hopes to be more precise with her pitches this time out.
"They definitely hit me hard when I made mistakes," Balint said. "I think it's going to come down to really throwing those quality pitches."
The NCAA made a format change to the Super Regional round for this spring, eliminating the second-day doubleheader in the event of a tiebreaking third game.
A year ago, Oregon won the opener of its Super Regional over UCLA, 8-1, but dropped game two the next day in crushing fashion, on a seventh-inning home run by the Bruins that forced extra innings. UCLA ultimately won in nine innings, and carried that momentum through the brief break between games to win the second game of the day and third of the series, also by a 2-1 score.
As of this year, the Super Regionals will be played over three days, with a single game each day. White was in favor of the format change.
"There's so much to play for at this part of the season," he said. "To have it come down to a 20-minute break (in the event of a doubleheader in the old format) and try and rebuild, if you're the team that happens to lose, it's very tough. I think this really helps to find the best team over the course of three days."
