Photo by: Aimee Sinacola/GoDucks.com
Road Map Leads Ducks Back to Arkansas
05/18/23 | Softball, @GoDucksMoseley
The Oregon softball team is on familiar turf this weekend for NCAA Regionals.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — They landed at the same charter terminal, bused to the same hotel, had dinner catered from the same local barbecue joint.
For the Oregon softball team, the start of their 2023 postseason journey looked a whole lot like it did one year ago.
"Déjà vu moments the whole way so far," senior second baseman Allee Bunker said.
The Ducks arrived in Arkansas on Tuesday evening, to play for the second year in a row at an NCAA Regional hosted by the Razorbacks. Oregon opens play in this year's regional against Notre Dame on Friday (2 p.m. PT, ESPN2), opening this year's postseason at the same place the Ducks did a year ago, Bogle Park.
"We'd never been to Arkansas before last year," Bunker said Thursday, prior to a practice session at Bogle Park. "So it was cool coming in and getting a feel for what's going on, the atmosphere and whatnot. We know a little bit more now coming in this year. It's nice to be able to be here again."
Oregon is making its third straight NCAA Regional appearance under head coach Melyssa Lombardi. After playing on the road the last two years, the Ducks had hoped to host regionals this time around; lacking that opportunity, returning to Arkansas feels like the next best thing.
"The biggest thing for our group is just the familiarity," Lombardi said. "We were just here, so we understand how the field plays, we understand what the fans are like, we understand what the town is like — we're staying in the same hotel. It's just very comfortable, and that's exciting."
Of course, the Ducks are hoping for one major difference this time around. After beating Wichita State twice but losing to the host Razorbacks twice a year ago, Oregon wants to advance through to Super Regionals this time around.
They'll look to get off to a strong start Friday against the Irish, who went 29-17-1 in the regular season and are making their 24th straight regionals appearance, the third-longest active streak in the country. The Ducks were 6-2 in series openers during Pac-12 play, a track record of success they hope will pay dividends in the regional opener.
Like the Ducks, Notre Dame enters the postseason having lost four straight. But Lombardi said not to put much stock in résumés at this point.
"To me, once you get to postseason, records are out the window," she said. "It doesn't matter if you won your last four or lost your last four; it's about the fact that you're in the postseason. The parity that's in softball now, it's just incredible. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day."
The Ducks have spent this season proving they can compete with whatever team occupies the opposing dugout. That had nonconference wins over ranked opponents from Florida, Missouri and Northwestern, and they took games in conference play from No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Washington.
Since day one of the season, Oregon has spoken of bringing a "postseason mentality" to the field. They didn't get too high when things were going well, nor too low when they struggled. Now, it's the postseason for real.
"The trick with postseason is, it can get a little too big at times," Bunker said. "The reason why we wanted to start that mentality early was so that we didn't have to change anything when we got to postseason. So that's definitely the message for our team. This weekend it's just, keep playing the way we know how to play softball. We've proven we can be a great team, so just continue to play that way."
When Bunker was a true freshman in 2019, the Ducks came up short of the postseason, and the pandemic wiped out the 2020 postseason. But in the three years since, Oregon has made its way to NCAA Regionals.
"It's nice just to have a road map," said fifth-year senior catcher Terra McGowan, one of 16 players on Oregon's 21-woman roster with tournament experience. "We've talked about that since our first year here, not really knowing how to navigate postseason. But now that we've got veterans on this team, it definitely helps to have a road map."
Once again, that map led the Ducks to Arkansas for regionals. With a solid performance this weekend, another milepost will await Oregon farther down the road.
For the Oregon softball team, the start of their 2023 postseason journey looked a whole lot like it did one year ago.
"Déjà vu moments the whole way so far," senior second baseman Allee Bunker said.
The Ducks arrived in Arkansas on Tuesday evening, to play for the second year in a row at an NCAA Regional hosted by the Razorbacks. Oregon opens play in this year's regional against Notre Dame on Friday (2 p.m. PT, ESPN2), opening this year's postseason at the same place the Ducks did a year ago, Bogle Park.
"We'd never been to Arkansas before last year," Bunker said Thursday, prior to a practice session at Bogle Park. "So it was cool coming in and getting a feel for what's going on, the atmosphere and whatnot. We know a little bit more now coming in this year. It's nice to be able to be here again."
Oregon is making its third straight NCAA Regional appearance under head coach Melyssa Lombardi. After playing on the road the last two years, the Ducks had hoped to host regionals this time around; lacking that opportunity, returning to Arkansas feels like the next best thing.
"The biggest thing for our group is just the familiarity," Lombardi said. "We were just here, so we understand how the field plays, we understand what the fans are like, we understand what the town is like — we're staying in the same hotel. It's just very comfortable, and that's exciting."
Of course, the Ducks are hoping for one major difference this time around. After beating Wichita State twice but losing to the host Razorbacks twice a year ago, Oregon wants to advance through to Super Regionals this time around.
They'll look to get off to a strong start Friday against the Irish, who went 29-17-1 in the regular season and are making their 24th straight regionals appearance, the third-longest active streak in the country. The Ducks were 6-2 in series openers during Pac-12 play, a track record of success they hope will pay dividends in the regional opener.
Like the Ducks, Notre Dame enters the postseason having lost four straight. But Lombardi said not to put much stock in résumés at this point.
"To me, once you get to postseason, records are out the window," she said. "It doesn't matter if you won your last four or lost your last four; it's about the fact that you're in the postseason. The parity that's in softball now, it's just incredible. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day."
The Ducks have spent this season proving they can compete with whatever team occupies the opposing dugout. That had nonconference wins over ranked opponents from Florida, Missouri and Northwestern, and they took games in conference play from No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Washington.
Since day one of the season, Oregon has spoken of bringing a "postseason mentality" to the field. They didn't get too high when things were going well, nor too low when they struggled. Now, it's the postseason for real.
"The trick with postseason is, it can get a little too big at times," Bunker said. "The reason why we wanted to start that mentality early was so that we didn't have to change anything when we got to postseason. So that's definitely the message for our team. This weekend it's just, keep playing the way we know how to play softball. We've proven we can be a great team, so just continue to play that way."
When Bunker was a true freshman in 2019, the Ducks came up short of the postseason, and the pandemic wiped out the 2020 postseason. But in the three years since, Oregon has made its way to NCAA Regionals.
"It's nice just to have a road map," said fifth-year senior catcher Terra McGowan, one of 16 players on Oregon's 21-woman roster with tournament experience. "We've talked about that since our first year here, not really knowing how to navigate postseason. But now that we've got veterans on this team, it definitely helps to have a road map."
Once again, that map led the Ducks to Arkansas for regionals. With a solid performance this weekend, another milepost will await Oregon farther down the road.
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