Washington Waddler

Irregardless of how this loss effects their regional/super regional draw, if it locks them into tournament focus, it was worth it.

Anyone else beyond tired of recruits playing into the click bait tease game that seems to be the only reason for most (OBD not included) sports sites to exist so they can offer nothing but last weeks news? I’ve nothing but admiration for those athletes who announce their schools of interest and then shut up.

Garate has been playing like a Golden Glove candidate.

Pent-up rivalry payback can carry you a long ways. That’s the beauty of rivalries. The emotions are unseen and unknown - until they happen. Put most any other team up against Beavis but the Ducks, and they’re probably still No. 3. Wouldn’t be surprised if all they’re dreaming about right now in Corvallis is getting the chance to match up with us one more time in a super regional.

First time Melyssa Lombardi’s Ducks have been ranked ahead of Mike White’s Longhorns. Feels good to be turning that corner.

Staci Chambers delivering under pressure bodes well for the team as it moves towards trophy time. Filling a role that’s been reserved for Grein and Sokolsky could offer the two starters some relief when things start to heat up. The slow but steady growth of her program is well displayed by how Lombardi is now beginning to attract and develop good transfer pitchers into some of the best in college softball. Finding that culture identity fit with Oregon like she had at Oklahoma (where for 21 years she was in charge of pitcher development) hopefully will translate into top drawer recruits taking a closer look.

Send that guy a free pass to the Ducks Beavers football game - in the student section.

Good to see Walsh getting his big bat going again. Go Ducks!

As Scott Reed points out, Dan’s recruiting strategy for this cycle has been to pass on the singles, and swing for the fence. When your quantity is low because you’ve limited your prospects to a select few, the transfers, decommits, and recruiting whiffs are going to hurt a bit more. As others have pointed out, this cycle is a work in progress, and Dan’s record would indicate there’s a lot left in his bat.

Heads up to LC.

Preview to the B1G championship? Can’t wait!

Kinda doubt either Bruin team will be resting on their laurels with a rubber match on the line. Our teams saw them at their best which can be an advantage, if we play to ours - which they have not seen. Go Ducks!

Whatever the source, it’s the kind of desperation move that’s easy to believe the Bruins might make. That’s a program that’s lacked an identity for so long that fishing expeditions have become 2nd nature.

Getting to be that hairsplitting time for poll rankings as the season starts to move into its final games. About now, provincial prejudice and bias starts to trump objectivity among rah-rah poll voters. Like fans who will side with their conference after their team is no longer in play, the east coast-centered sports media voters apparently will side with any team east of the Mississippi River. Oregon’s youthful inconsistency in home losses to inferior teams (Oregon State and LMU) most likely came into play to justify their hairsplitting.

One of the things I love about softball is how every pitcher has to stay mentally engaged, even when they’re pulled, since they may be called upon again in relief. No heading for the showers for starter Elise Sokolsky who had to reenter in order to save her own start when reliever Lyndsey Grein got in trouble. This requirement that every pitcher stay involved creates a team dynamic that seems unique to softball.