The Ducks Swing Away the Offseason, Let Softball Season Commence.

Ashley Young FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

A No. 2 ranked team in the country. A reputation of historical dominance where grit, sweat and tears are the lineup. Do you know to which team I’m referring? I’d love to say the UO track and field team, but this feature is all about the ladies in green dominating the softball field and swatting away the competition. That’s right Ducks fans, our Oregon softball team has started to ”play ball.”

Number 2. Wait, number 2? In the country!? Yeah, that’s right! In the last six games, opponents have only scored 15 runs on the Ducks, including three shutouts. Head coach Mike White has excelled in recruiting, training, and coaching these young women to success on the field. Of the Ducks’ 21 players, only four are seniors. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it looks like this Duck dynasty will be around for a while.

Oregon is batting exceptionally well this season.

Oregon is batting exceptionally well this season.

This season’s Ducks have been putting teams away both in the field and at the plate. The story begins and ends with the Ducks’ outstanding roster, notably Hailey Decker, a junior transfer from Nebraska, and freshmen sensation Jenna Lilley.

According to Pete Martini of the Statesman Journal, “Oregon junior first baseman Hailey Decker, from McNary High School, is batting .278, with two doubles, one RBI and six runs scored. Decker, who has a .409 on-base percentage, is in her first season with the Ducks after transferring from Nebraska.”

According to goducks.com, “Freshman Jenna Lilley came into the season as one of the top recruits in the nation out of Hoover HS in North Canton, Ohio. The third baseman certainly delivered, going 10-of-19 over her six collegiate games (.526).” She was awarded PAC 12 Player of the Week following the Kajakawa Classic Feb. 6-8.

Celebration in order after a home run from the Ducks vs Washington.

Celebration in order after a home run for the Ducks vs Washington.

The Ducks head to Waco, Texas this week (Feb. 16-21) for a week-long tournament. Their first home opener is against rival Oregon State in a typical Civil War fashion on Friday, March 13th at 4:00pm. Mark your calendars! I hope to see a lot of Ducks fans at Howe Field in support of our beloved Ducks!

New 2024 FishDuck Publishing Schedule….

During the off-season the FishDuck.com publishing schedule will consist of articles on Mondays and Tuesdays. Do keep checking as new articles could be published during the week when a writer has something to say.

In mid-August of 2024, we will go back to the seven-days-a-week of articles during the football season as we did in the football season of 2023.

The Our Beloved Ducks Forum (OBD) is where we we discuss the article above and many more topics, as it is so much easier in a message board format over there.  At the free OBD forum we will be posting Oregon Sports article links, the daily Press Releases from the Athletic Department and the news coming out every day.

Our 33 rules at the free OBD Forum can be summarized to this: 1) be polite and respectful, 2) do not tell anyone what to think, feel or write, and 3) no reference of any kind to politics. Easy-peasy!

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