University of Oregon
Drake
Hot Starts Have Been Key To Hot Start
02/27/20 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
The No. 10 Oregon softball team entered play this week with a 14-0 record, and the Ducks are outscoring opponents 51-0 in the first two innings of games.
Oregon's strong start can be chalked up in part to strong starts.
The UO softball team left Thursday for Oklahoma, where the No. 10 Ducks will play twice Friday and twice more Saturday – the finale a marquee matchup against No. 15 Oklahoma State – before wrapping up the trip with one game Sunday. The Ducks open play in the Tulsa/OSU Invitational against Drake on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
Entering the fourth weekend of the season, Oregon sports a 14-0 record – a hot start spurred by hot starts. In the first two innings of games this season, the Ducks have scored a combined 51 runs, while allowing zero.
"We just want to suffocate them right from the get-go," sophomore infielder Allee Bunker said. "That's been one of our strong suits."
Just last week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Oregon was up 8-0 through two innings against Idaho State, and 4-0 through two against then-No. 25 Northwestern.
Softball teams only have 21 outs to work with in a seven-inning game. Every time the Ducks take any early lead, those scant few at-bats become more and more pressure-packed for the opposition.
"It definitely puts pressure on them right away, just because we do have runs on the board," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "And I think it allows our team to relax a little bit and continue the game."
The Ducks couldn't take early leads without strong starting pitching, and they're certainly getting that. Brooke Yanez and Jordan Dail have started five games each, Samaria Diaz has made three starts and freshman Makenna Kliethermes has started once. None has allowed a run in the first two innings.
And of course, the top of the lineup has been exceptional at setting the tone. Leadoff hitter Haley Cruse has an on-base average of .545 and has scored 25 times, second-most in the country entering this weekend. Terra McGowan has moved up to No. 2 in the order and is hitting .417, Rachel Cid is slugging a monstrous .705 from the No. 3 hole, and Bunker brings a .910 OPS to the cleanup spot.
Cruse is hitting .478, with seven walks against just one strikeout in 46 at-bats.
"I know how important it is to get ahead early and to get on base early, so that's always my main goal," Cruse said. "Find any way I can to get on base, whether it's a walk or a hit, and just try to get some momentum going for us."
But it isn't only the top of the order getting it done for Oregon. The Ducks' most prolific inning this season so far has been the second, with 32 runs scored in 14 games. Mya Felder has kept up the pressure once opposing pitchers get through the top four spots in the order, hitting .414. Freshman Ariel Carlson has an OPS of .900 and is second on the team with five doubles.
"We don't have a weak spot in the order right now," Cruse said. "And even coming off the bench we have a lot of strong hitters."
For Lombardi, that's been among the pleasant surprises during Oregon's unbeaten start. Given the additions to the pitching staff, she was confident the Ducks would be strong in the circle. But the depth of the offensive production has materialized quicker than might have been expected.
"Last year there were some times where we'd get to certain parts of our lineup where we had to be a little creative at times," Lombardi said. "This year we'll get off the field (after a half-inning on defense) and I'll be like, OK, who's up to bat? Right now I feel like we've got a steady lineup one through nine, and good depth coming off the bench."
That offensive depth will be tested this weekend, especially in the matchup of ranked teams Saturday. Oklahoma State's top starter is senior transfer Carrie Eberle, a former teammate of Dail's at Virginia Tech. Eberle is 5-1 with an ERA of 0.50 so far – only one pitcher in the country as thrown more innings with a lower ERA, Alexis Holloway of Notre Dame.
Hollaway has thrown 58 2/3 innings and has an ERA of 0.24, though the Ducks scored five unearned runs off her in a 5-1 victory last weekend. Eberle has allowed five runs, three earned, in her 42 innings pitched.
"We're staying locked-in game by game right now," Lombardi said. "We've got Drake first, and that's the most important thing – and then from there, we'll move on. But they obviously do understand that we're going to go to Oklahoma State, who's a World Series team, was a contender last year. And we got to play them last year so we're familiar with them as well. But we respect what Oklahoma State has done and we know it's going to be a tough game."
