Photo by: Molly McPherson
Daniell Making Herself At Home
02/16/23 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
Native Oregonian Alyssa Daniell joined the UO softball team for this season and made her presence felt on the opening weekend of the season.
Alyssa Daniell was worried about her ability to step up as a first-year player for the Oregon softball team. After one weekend, she's quieted those doubts considerably.
Daniell, a junior infielder for the Ducks, admitted being a ball of nerves when she stepped into the batter's box for the first time last week at the season-opening Puerto Vallarta Challenge.
A transfer from Loyola Marymount, she wanted to prove herself to her new teammates. A native of Happy Valley, Ore., she wanted to make an impact befitting a proud in-state contributor for the Ducks. A rare left-handed power bat in the UO lineup, she wanted to provide a different look to opposing pitchers.
Called on as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning of Oregon's season opener against Maryland, Daniell grounded out in her first official UO at-bat. She started the remaining four games of the weekend, and proceeded to tear the cover off the ball.
"I won't lie, I was shaking my first at-bat," Daniell said Wednesday, a day before the Ducks departed for this week's five-game appearance at the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego. "… After that I was like, I've done this a thousand times before. Don't make it bigger than it is – you've prepared for this. After that, it was just easy going."
It was anything but easy for opposing pitchers. Daniell finished the weekend in Mexico with a .500 average in 12 at-bats, with a double and four RBIs. She was named to the all-tournament team after driving in two runs in the Ducks' weekend finale, a 4-3 win over North Dakota State.
Daniell joined the Ducks after two years at Loyola Marymount, where she hit .357 last spring to earn her second straight all-conference honor. She entered the transfer portal looking for a fresh start, calling the decision "a shot in the dark."
The uncertainty led to some trepidation. But just as Daniell's nerves calmed after one at-bat last week, her anxiety with the transfer process lifted soon after she connected on the phone with UO coach Melyssa Lombardi.
"I instantly clicked with her," Daniell said. "I just felt so excited to be able to come back home, be with my family, and represent a team what I watched growing up and that I really never, ever believed I'd be a part of. Now that I'm here, it's been nothing but amazing."
Daniell provides a different look to the UO lineup. She left-handed, unlike some of Oregon's other big bats such as Allee Bunker, Terra McGowan and Ariel Carson. And Daniell isn't a slap hitter like some of the other left-handed bats in the lineup. Her value only increased when another veteran UO lefty, Hanna Delgado, suffered an injury that has her day to day entering this weekend.
"I feel like my role is just to be myself as a hitter," Daniell said. "Don't make it bigger than it is. Because I am different – I give depth to the lineup, so I'm just thankful I can bring that."
Upon arriving at Oregon, Daniell joined a program eager to build on the team's NCAA Regional appearances the past two years. Eager to extend that streak of postseason appearances, and to make an even deeper run this season.
"This team has a lot of passion, and immediately coming in I could see that," Daniell said. "It has only encouraged me to want to feed into that passion, and help my teammates accomplish what they've been working for. I'm so driven to become a part of that."
This weekend, Daniell could get a chance to play for the Ducks against the program she left, Loyola Marymount. The Ducks and Lions are scheduled to play Saturday at 1:30 p.m., in Oregon's third game of the Campbell/Cartier Classic and their first of two games that day.
Daniell left Loyola Marymount on good terms, she said. She's eager to see some former teammates who remain friends.
"But at the end of the day," she added, "it is business and you've just got to treat them like any other team that you're playing. Off the field, we're all really good friends. But on the field, I'm going to treat them like anyone else and just play my game."
Through one week of the season, Daniell's impact on the Ducks has been impressive. And with help from UO hitting coach Sam Marder and the rest of the UO staff, she's just getting started.
"I've improved tremendously throughout my time here, so I'm very thankful for that," Daniell said. "And I feel like I'm only going to get better from here."
Daniell, a junior infielder for the Ducks, admitted being a ball of nerves when she stepped into the batter's box for the first time last week at the season-opening Puerto Vallarta Challenge.
A transfer from Loyola Marymount, she wanted to prove herself to her new teammates. A native of Happy Valley, Ore., she wanted to make an impact befitting a proud in-state contributor for the Ducks. A rare left-handed power bat in the UO lineup, she wanted to provide a different look to opposing pitchers.
Called on as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning of Oregon's season opener against Maryland, Daniell grounded out in her first official UO at-bat. She started the remaining four games of the weekend, and proceeded to tear the cover off the ball.
"I won't lie, I was shaking my first at-bat," Daniell said Wednesday, a day before the Ducks departed for this week's five-game appearance at the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego. "… After that I was like, I've done this a thousand times before. Don't make it bigger than it is – you've prepared for this. After that, it was just easy going."
It was anything but easy for opposing pitchers. Daniell finished the weekend in Mexico with a .500 average in 12 at-bats, with a double and four RBIs. She was named to the all-tournament team after driving in two runs in the Ducks' weekend finale, a 4-3 win over North Dakota State.
Daniell joined the Ducks after two years at Loyola Marymount, where she hit .357 last spring to earn her second straight all-conference honor. She entered the transfer portal looking for a fresh start, calling the decision "a shot in the dark."
The uncertainty led to some trepidation. But just as Daniell's nerves calmed after one at-bat last week, her anxiety with the transfer process lifted soon after she connected on the phone with UO coach Melyssa Lombardi.
"I instantly clicked with her," Daniell said. "I just felt so excited to be able to come back home, be with my family, and represent a team what I watched growing up and that I really never, ever believed I'd be a part of. Now that I'm here, it's been nothing but amazing."
Daniell provides a different look to the UO lineup. She left-handed, unlike some of Oregon's other big bats such as Allee Bunker, Terra McGowan and Ariel Carson. And Daniell isn't a slap hitter like some of the other left-handed bats in the lineup. Her value only increased when another veteran UO lefty, Hanna Delgado, suffered an injury that has her day to day entering this weekend.
"I feel like my role is just to be myself as a hitter," Daniell said. "Don't make it bigger than it is. Because I am different – I give depth to the lineup, so I'm just thankful I can bring that."
Upon arriving at Oregon, Daniell joined a program eager to build on the team's NCAA Regional appearances the past two years. Eager to extend that streak of postseason appearances, and to make an even deeper run this season.
"This team has a lot of passion, and immediately coming in I could see that," Daniell said. "It has only encouraged me to want to feed into that passion, and help my teammates accomplish what they've been working for. I'm so driven to become a part of that."
This weekend, Daniell could get a chance to play for the Ducks against the program she left, Loyola Marymount. The Ducks and Lions are scheduled to play Saturday at 1:30 p.m., in Oregon's third game of the Campbell/Cartier Classic and their first of two games that day.
Daniell left Loyola Marymount on good terms, she said. She's eager to see some former teammates who remain friends.
"But at the end of the day," she added, "it is business and you've just got to treat them like any other team that you're playing. Off the field, we're all really good friends. But on the field, I'm going to treat them like anyone else and just play my game."
Through one week of the season, Daniell's impact on the Ducks has been impressive. And with help from UO hitting coach Sam Marder and the rest of the UO staff, she's just getting started.
"I've improved tremendously throughout my time here, so I'm very thankful for that," Daniell said. "And I feel like I'm only going to get better from here."
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
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