next year's softball team

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oregontrack
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next year's softball team

Post by oregontrack »

while it's fresh on the mind...

this year, we returned 8/9 everyday position players, so things were pretty easy to forecast. next year, we'll only be returning 4, all of them in the infield.

3B jenna lilly and SS nikki udria should both be pac-12 POTY candidates. 2B lauren lindvall solidified herself at second this year, and C gwen svekis was the back-up catcher/designated player on days where janelle lindvall was catching. udria will be a senior, lilly/lindvall/svekis will be juniors.

luckily, we've been recruited like mad lately, so while we'll be short on experience, we shouldn't be short on talent.

this year's freshman class (next year's sophomores) was very talented, but with such a heavy senior-laden class, none of them started much and were mostly relegated to pinch hitting duties in-conference. but i think we'll see OF cherish burks (#18 recruit in her class), INF madi bishop (#45), and INF april utecht all start next year. bishop and utecht might fight it out at 1B, with the other taking over DP duties. burks, especially, should provide much needed speed in the outfield.

and as most of us know, this year's class -- high school seniors right now, freshmen in the fall -- was the #1 ranked class in the nation. i think shannon rhodes (#8 player in the country) and mia camuso (#18) might both start in the outfield right away.

as for pitching, megan kleist will be a sophomore, but we also signed the top two pitching recruits in the nation, so it's kind of hard to say how things will shake out. kleist has the experience, and she's very good, but miranda elish (#1) and maggie balint (#4) are going to come in and push for time right away. we might see a set-up kind of like ucla's where all three end up pitching a ton of innings. if we start one and they just don't have it, there may not be much of a leash with two other quality arms ready to go.

i think we'll be in the hunt for a 5th straight pac-12 title. ucla and arizona will both push us the whole way. washington, utah, and oregon state should all be good. asu and cal won't be down forever. it'll be tough, and we lose a ton of contributors, but there's a ton of talent in this program right now.
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GrandpaDuck
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by GrandpaDuck »

Thanks for the info. I actually watch quite a few games on the PAC-12 network, but had no idea if they had the holes plugged for next year. Sounds like they'll be much better than a rebuilding year.
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duckduckgoose
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by duckduckgoose »

GrandpaDuck wrote:Thanks for the info. I actually watch quite a few games on the PAC-12 network, but had no idea if they had the holes plugged for next year. Sounds like they'll be much better than a rebuilding year.
I watched just about every duck game they showed on pac12 network too. I just find the game way more exciting than the baseball games. Added that the women's team is so good compared to the men's team and it's a no brainer.


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thomas time
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by thomas time »

Yep I'm with you guys watching all games that were on pac 12, and follow them closer then the baseball team. We got #1 recruiting class again with the two starting pitchers, an OF, an OF/1B and an infielder so far. Jenna is my favorite player, can't wait to watch her hopefully for a full season and get off to a better start then she did this year.
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StevensTechU
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by StevensTechU »

duckduckgoose wrote:
GrandpaDuck wrote:Thanks for the info. I actually watch quite a few games on the PAC-12 network, but had no idea if they had the holes plugged for next year. Sounds like they'll be much better than a rebuilding year.
I just find the game way more exciting than the baseball games. Added that the women's team is so good compared to the men's team and it's a no brainer.


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100% agree. Doesn't help that the top 5% of players go straight to the minor leagues. I'd hate to see what would happen to other sports if that happened. College football would be like watching Iowa versus Northwestern every game.
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duckduckgoose
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by duckduckgoose »

It amazes me at how far women's sports have progressed since I was in high school. The skill level watching these girls turn a double play or execute a suicide squeeze play amazes me.


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UofDuck
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Re: next year's softball team

Post by UofDuck »

duckduckgoose wrote:It amazes me at how far women's sports have progressed since I was in high school. The skill level watching these girls turn a double play or execute a suicide squeeze play amazes me.


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This x 1000
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