Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Dail Shouldering Heavy Load For Ducks
04/11/19 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
Sophomore left-hander Jordan Dail is ready and willing to be a workhorse for the Oregon softball team for the stretch run of this season.
Five weeks remain in the Oregon softball team's regular season, but already it's been a career year in a least one regard for UO starting pitcher Jordan Dail.
The reigning Pac-12 pitcher of the week, Dail has thrown 152 2/3 innings already this spring for the Ducks, who open a three-game series at No. 1 UCLA on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The sophomore transfer from Virginia Tech is the only scholarship pitcher on the UO roster, and the Ducks are riding her left arm to the finish line of the 2019 season.
"She's a workhorse," UO junior outfielder Haley Cruse said. "She'll pitch until her arm falls off — which I don't think will happen, because she's in great shape. But she's been really big for us."
Dail (13-8, 3.53) is coming off an exceptional weekend of nonconference action. She threw three straight complete games over the course of a day and a half last week at Missouri, pitching Oregon to two victories over Pittsburgh and one over the host Tigers.
In the wake of transfer Maddie McGrandle's departure, walk-on freshman Kailey Krueger rounds out the rotation with Dail for the remaining five weeks of the regular season. A UO undergrad who answered the call when the Ducks needed to add depth in February, Krueger has provided invaluable innings for the Ducks in recent weeks.
But Dail will get the call as often as possible the rest of the season, beginning Friday against the Bruins.
"Whatever the team needs me to do, that's what I'm going to do," said Dail, who has two no-hitters this season and is second in the Pac-12 with 165 strikeouts. "Whether that's 20 innings in a weekend, or two in a weekend, that's fine with me. As long as I'm being successful in helping the team win, that's all I care about."
First-year UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said she knew from the first time she met Dail that the steely left-hander wouldn't back down from a challenge. On an Oregon team that endured significant roster turnover in the wake of a coaching change, hitting and fielding and pitching are valued skills, but perhaps nothing has been appreciated more than players willing to stand their ground and fight through adversity.
Players like Dail.
"When I first met her, the first thing I knew instantly was that she was a competitor," Lombardi said. "And that, where others maybe shy away, she wants to see what she can do."
Dail's mentality is such that she wants the ball every day. The Ducks are taking steps to make sure she's physically capable of doing so, not just mentally.
Her midweek throwing program has been streamlined, Lombardi said: "Just basically touching things up and preparing for what's next."
Team strength and conditioning coach Mark Dillon has helped Dail build up and then maintain strength levels for the grind of the stretch run. Dail said she feels "really healthy" despite leading the Pac-12 in innings pitched.
"I don't see my arm falling off any time soon," she joked.
Along with staying fit, Dail can keep herself available for the Ducks by throwing strikes. She produces tremendous movement on her pitches, which can sometimes be tough to command. It's imperative she does command her pitches, however, given how much Oregon needs to rely on Dail.
"We've been talking a lot about being efficient, because when she's efficient, she really does a lot of good things on the mound," Lombardi said. "It's something we've been talking about all year, so it's nothing new. But I think as the year goes on, with the experience she gets, it's just, she's starting to 'get it' a little bit more."
When Dail is hitting her spots, she can stay in the circle. And when she can stay in the circle, the Ducks have a chance — even, Lombardi stressed, this weekend against mighty UCLA.
"This team, we have a lot of competitors," Lombardi said. "They have tremendous fight in them. I'm really looking forward to going to UCLA and seeing what we can do as a group."
The reigning Pac-12 pitcher of the week, Dail has thrown 152 2/3 innings already this spring for the Ducks, who open a three-game series at No. 1 UCLA on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The sophomore transfer from Virginia Tech is the only scholarship pitcher on the UO roster, and the Ducks are riding her left arm to the finish line of the 2019 season.
"She's a workhorse," UO junior outfielder Haley Cruse said. "She'll pitch until her arm falls off — which I don't think will happen, because she's in great shape. But she's been really big for us."
Dail (13-8, 3.53) is coming off an exceptional weekend of nonconference action. She threw three straight complete games over the course of a day and a half last week at Missouri, pitching Oregon to two victories over Pittsburgh and one over the host Tigers.
In the wake of transfer Maddie McGrandle's departure, walk-on freshman Kailey Krueger rounds out the rotation with Dail for the remaining five weeks of the regular season. A UO undergrad who answered the call when the Ducks needed to add depth in February, Krueger has provided invaluable innings for the Ducks in recent weeks.
But Dail will get the call as often as possible the rest of the season, beginning Friday against the Bruins.
"Whatever the team needs me to do, that's what I'm going to do," said Dail, who has two no-hitters this season and is second in the Pac-12 with 165 strikeouts. "Whether that's 20 innings in a weekend, or two in a weekend, that's fine with me. As long as I'm being successful in helping the team win, that's all I care about."
First-year UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said she knew from the first time she met Dail that the steely left-hander wouldn't back down from a challenge. On an Oregon team that endured significant roster turnover in the wake of a coaching change, hitting and fielding and pitching are valued skills, but perhaps nothing has been appreciated more than players willing to stand their ground and fight through adversity.
Players like Dail.
"When I first met her, the first thing I knew instantly was that she was a competitor," Lombardi said. "And that, where others maybe shy away, she wants to see what she can do."
Dail's mentality is such that she wants the ball every day. The Ducks are taking steps to make sure she's physically capable of doing so, not just mentally.
Her midweek throwing program has been streamlined, Lombardi said: "Just basically touching things up and preparing for what's next."
Team strength and conditioning coach Mark Dillon has helped Dail build up and then maintain strength levels for the grind of the stretch run. Dail said she feels "really healthy" despite leading the Pac-12 in innings pitched.
"I don't see my arm falling off any time soon," she joked.
Along with staying fit, Dail can keep herself available for the Ducks by throwing strikes. She produces tremendous movement on her pitches, which can sometimes be tough to command. It's imperative she does command her pitches, however, given how much Oregon needs to rely on Dail.
"We've been talking a lot about being efficient, because when she's efficient, she really does a lot of good things on the mound," Lombardi said. "It's something we've been talking about all year, so it's nothing new. But I think as the year goes on, with the experience she gets, it's just, she's starting to 'get it' a little bit more."
When Dail is hitting her spots, she can stay in the circle. And when she can stay in the circle, the Ducks have a chance — even, Lombardi stressed, this weekend against mighty UCLA.
"This team, we have a lot of competitors," Lombardi said. "They have tremendous fight in them. I'm really looking forward to going to UCLA and seeing what we can do as a group."
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