No. 13 Softball Goes From The Beach To The Desert For UNLV Rebel Classic
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
Oregon’s offense came out on fire in the season-opener as the Ducks scored 14 runs on 11 hits to defeat IPFW 14-0. Freshman Joanna Gail (Poway, Calif.) began her college career in fine form, going 2-for-3 with a double, a grand slam and six RBI. Behind Gail’s performance, the Ducks tied the single-game RBI record (13). Shortstop Breanne Sabol finished the game 3-for-4 and in Oregon’s four games over the weekend, Sabol was 9-for-15 with five runs scored, five RBI and two doubles. Pitcher Alicia Cook (Elmira) got her first win in a Duck uniform, retiring nine consecutive batters in the game and striking out four. Cook recorded her second win in a 5-0 shutout over Jacksonville, giving up just two hits in five innings of work. Sabol accounted for four of the Ducks’ five runs in the game and finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases. As a team, Oregon had five stolen bases in the game. Against host Hawaii, six different players recorded a hit as the Ducks won 10-2. Freshman T.J. Eadus was 3-for-4 with three RBI and senior Ashley Richards was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Junior pitcher Amy Harris picked up the win for Oregon. On Sunday, No. 9 Washington handed the Ducks their first loss of the season, capitalizing on three Oregon errors and limiting the Ducks to just three hits.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Breanne Sabol (SS), Dani Baird (OF) and Alicia Cook (P) were all named to the Hawaii Paradise Classic All-Tournament team. Sabol had nine hits, five RBI, five runs scored, a .733 slugging percentage and a .600 on base percentage. Baird finished the weekend going 6-for-11 (.545) with four runs scored, four RBI, a home run, a double and a .909 slugging percentage. Cook picked up two wins, allowing just two hits in nine innings of work. The Elmira native didn’t allow a run or a walk and struck out five batters.
GAIL OUT INDEFINITELY
Freshman third baseman Joanna Gail is out indefinitely after dislocating her elbow in Oregon’s 5-0 win over Jacksonville. Gail was 2-for-3 in the opener, hitting a double and a grand slam. In her first at bat vs. Jacksonville, Gail drew a walk. Gail is expected to return at some point later in the season.
HEAD COACH KATHY ARENDSEN (454-316 overall, 79-40 Pac-10)
Third-year head coach Kathy Arendsen has returned the Duck softball program back to a competitor within the Pac-10 as well as on the national level. In Arendsen’s first season, the Ducks finished T3rd in the Pac-10 with a 10-11 conference mark ? their highest league finish since 1990. Last season, the Ducks won 10 conference games again and made their second straight trip to the NCAA Regional tournament. The memorable 2003 season ended with a 37-19 overall record and Arendsen guided the Ducks to their most Pac-10 wins since1998, back-to-back home wins over a conference opponent for the first time since 1998 and a sweep of Washington for the first time since 1993. There was more to come in 2004 as the team defeated every Pac-10 team for the first time since 1998. Oregon’s 1-0 win over No. 1 Arizona marked the first time in school history that the Ducks defeated a top-ranked team and the squad won the series over Washington for the second straight year. It marked the first time in school history that Oregon won the series over the Huskies in back to back seasons. Following the 2004 season, several players were honored for their play. Pitcher Ani Nyhus earned first-team all-Pac-10 accolades while catcher Jenn Poore earned second-team all-conference honors. Beth Boskovich and Ashley Richards were honorable mention selections and the four were named to the NCAA regional all-tournament team while Poore also earned first-team Easton All-American honors. In November of 2004, Arendsen was the only American in the record class of 19 inductees to be elected into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame. Arendsen is now a member of eight different Halls of Fame.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Baylor: No. 15 Baylor is 6-0 this season after winning its season-opening tournament. Kim Wilmoth earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors and is hitting .529 (9-for-17). As a team, the Lady Bears are hitting .331 while the pitchers are limiting opponents to a 0.72 ERA. Baylor’s 2004 season ended much like the Ducks’ as they fell to then-No. 3 LSU in 10 innings and needed to defeat Illinois in the following game to advance to the regional championship. Illinois won 4-0 ending Baylor’s most successful season in program history.
UC Riverside: The Highlanders have lost three straight games and finished 1-5 at the San Diego State tournament to open the season. Offensively, Jessica Black leads the team with a .438 (7-for-16) average. Last season, Riverside finished 13-50 and was 4-20 at neutral sites.
Texas State: The Bobcats opened the season with three consecutive wins before falling to Wichita State 3-2 in eight innings. Pitcher Katie Ann Trahan earned Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after starting all four games and also hitting .308. Trahan pitched 24 innings, striking out 40 batters and compiling a .74 ERA.
Michigan: The Wolverines open their season this weekend after finishing the 2004 season with a 54-13 overall record, the Big 10 title and a trip to the College World Series. Three All-Americans, including Big 10 Pitcher of the Year Nicole Motycka and Big 10 Player of the Year Jessica Merchant, lead the way for Michigan in 2005. As a team, Michigan pitchers finished fifth in the nation in ERA (0.99) in 2004. A 3-2, 13 inning loss to LSU and a 5-4 loss to Stanford eliminated Michigan from the CWS last season.
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls are 2-3 after picking up wins against New Mexico State and Kansas at the Pepsi Arizona Classic last weekend. Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa, Arizona and Northwestern. Shortstop Stephanie Nicholson leads the team offesnively, finishing the tournament 7-for-16 (.438) with three RBI.
DRAMATIC REUNIONS
Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen’s first season (2003) was one of the most memorable seasons in school history. The Ducks were 16-5 in one run games and two of those wins were against then-No. 4 Michigan and then-No.11 Oklahoma State. Against the Wolverines, Oregon, which was unranked at the time, led 7-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Michigan rallied to tie the game and force extra innings. Oregon’s Breanne Sabol was placed at second due to the international tiebreaker rule and scored on a throwing error by Michigan third baseman Angie Churchill. Michigan loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but a dramatic double play by Erin Goodell ended the game and the Ducks cracked the Top 25 the following week. Oregon’s postseason run was as dramatic as its regular season. On the second day of regional action in Fullerton, Calif., the Ducks lost 2-1 to Oklahoma State to fall into the elimination bracket. Oregon defeated San Diego State and then-No. 6 Fullerton to set up a rematch with Oklahoma State. The game lasted 4 hours, 15 minutes and went 12 innings with the Ducks securing the win on an Andrea Vidlund RBI single. Vidlund also picked up the win from the mound.
FRESHMEN DEBUT ANYTHING BUT ROOKIE
Five of Oregon’s six freshman saw significant playing time this weekend. Offensively, the newcomers were 11-for-30 (.367) with eight runs scored, 11 RBI, four doubles and a grand slam. Pitcher Alicia Cook also had two at bats and recorded an RBI. On the mound, Cook allowed just two hits and walked none in nine innings of work. She limited opponents to a 0.69 batting average.
THE STREAK CONTINUES
Breanne Sabol started her 123rd consecutive game at shortstop vs. Washington last Sunday. In her first three games of the season, Sabol was 3-for-4 and is currently hitting .600. She also leads the team with three stolen bases.
MAKING A RUN FOR THREE STRAIGHT
Oregon has made it to the postseason in three consecutive seasons just one time in school history (1998, 1999, 2000) and will be looking to make its third straight regional appearance in 2005 after advancing in 2003 and 2004. Prior to head coach Kathy Arendsen’s arrival, the Duck program was 14-17 (.451) in their nine postseason (one CWS appearance) appearances. Under Arendsen, the Ducks are 9-4 (.692) in two postseason appearances and have advanced to the NCAA regional championship game in both seasons. With the exception of the 1989 WCWS appearance, Oregon has never advanced to the regional championship game until the arrival of Arendsen. In the two regional appearances in 2003 and 2004, Oregon had eight all-regional tournament honorees. In the prior nine appearances, the Ducks had just five players make the team (4, 1998; 1, 1999).
