Expectations Unchanged As Oregon Softball Team Opens Practice

One of the attributes that's made Oregon softball so fun to watch in recent years has been the joy the Ducks bring to the game.

Few individual players have embodied that more than Mia Camuso. After doing the splits to dig out a throw at first base, the junior known as "Moose" will usually leap to her feet and joyfully shout encouragement to the infielder that delivered it.

It was only the first day of practice for the 2019 season Tuesday. But Camuso was in midseason form as she bounded up the Jane Sanders Stadium steps to meet with media on the concourse, smiling and laughing with reporters as she discussed the upcoming campaign.

To be sure, the Ducks will miss the six teammates who departed this offseason, following a coaching change. But the roster has been rebooted under first-year coach Melyssa Lombardi, and the UO softball team was ready Tuesday to get down to the business of preparing for the 2019 season.

"It's been really tough, but they're happy now, we're happy and everyone is moving on for their season," Camuso said. "… I stayed because I really believe in Oregon. I love Oregon with all my heart, and I love the fans."

The Ducks opened practice Tuesday with 17 players on the roster, the same number of active players at the end of the 2018 season, when Oregon won the Pac-12 for the fifth time in six years, and reached Oklahoma City for the fourth time in five years. Maggie Balint now leads a pitching staff that also includes lefty transfers Jordan Dail and Maddie MacGrandle. Freshmen Terra McGowan, a transfer from Arizona State, and recent addition Annalisa Williamson out of Jesuit High in Portland join senior April Utecht in the mix at catcher.

"We might look a little different this year, but I have the same expectations," Lombardi said. "And I think these athletes would tell you the same thing."

Indeed, Camuso said, "there's always the same expectation: to go to the end."

The Ducks returned their top two hitters from 2018 in outfielders Haley Cruse (.377) and Alexis Mack (.369). They also were two of Oregon's top three base stealers in 2018, with Mack swiping 24 bags and Cruse stealing 10.

To hear Cruse tell it, those numbers could go up this spring.

"Our job at the top of the lineup is to set the table and get on base, and rely on our power hitters to get us in," Cruse said. "So we want to wreak havoc on the bases."

Cruse and Camuso were two of Lombardi's most valued leaders this offseason, helping the remaining players weather the tumult of the coaching change and roster turnover. The Ducks will miss their departed teammates on a personal level, but it's clear too they're ready to turn the page and embark on the next chapter of Oregon softball.

"Everyone handles change differently; they were used to one style of coaching and playing, and they liked that style, so they wanted to stick with it," Cruse said. "Everyone here respects and supports their decision. …

"Change is always difficult, but I think we've brought in a lot of talented people, and we have a lot of new, talented freshmen coming in. So I'm excited to see what these new people have to offer our team. And I think our team chemistry is really good right now, and I'm excited to get more experience on the field with our team."

Regardless of any other circumstances, the Ducks were always going to have a new-look infield in 2019, after the graduation of seniors Jenna Lilley, DJ Sanders and Lauren Lindvall. The next generation includes power-hitting third baseman Rachel Cid, and shortstop Jasmine Sievers, who recently was invited to compete for Team USA in junior national tournaments this summer.

Like Camuso, Sievers had a bounce in her step and a wide smile as she met with local media prior to Tuesday's practice.

"I'm very energetic and I like to make things fun," Sievers said. "I just like to mess around, because it should never be too serious. So we always have a good time in practice. And I get really engaged, and everyone knows I'm going to do what I need to do to make everyone and myself better."

Through fall ball and the winter, Cruse said Lombardi is proving to be a coach who "likes to mix it up. She keeps us on our toes. She's really organized, and she really likes to get to know her players a lot. I think that's been a really good characteristic of their coaching staff."

Camuso called her new coach, "a very strong lady. She is very communicative, and really wants us to do well in school, and wants us to work hard in practice every day."

Those practices began Tuesday. Where this season will take the Ducks, who begin play Feb. 8 in the Kajikawa Classic, they're about to start finding out.

"We had some struggles in the fall; everybody knows that," Lombardi said. "It was tough dealing with all this. But I thought they did a great job sticking together. I can't wait to see what they're going to do this spring. I think they're going to do some really great things."