Oregon Softball Opens The Fall Season

Oregon Ducks softball played against the Corban University Warriors this afternoon at The Jane, and if you were not there you missed as pleasant an October afternoon as you could possibly hope for.

Corban University is a private Christian university located in Salem. They are a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

Morgan L. Blackwell

Today’s “game” was designed to be 10 innings of play, and would more accurately be called a scrimmage, as both sides were more concerned with getting players in action than following normal NCAA softball rules.

All of the fall games are free of charge, and all have some sort of charitable cause that Oregon softball is trying to aid. Today, the cause was donations to help the ongoing Maui wildfire relief efforts.

Because today’s game was a designed 10-inning scrimmage, it ended with the ridiculous score of 38-1. Neither side was paying attention to the score; they were more concerned with situational play and development.

What stood out most in this game was the athletic disparity between the teams. Power 5 athletics on both the men’s and women’s sides include many, many very good athletes, and a game like today’s reinforces just how much Oregon is (literally) in a different league from a school like Corban. The Warriors missed some defensive plays that we take for granted Oregon will make. Corban will also likely not see pitchers like Stevie Hansen or Raegan Breedlove, either - the Warriors were having trouble getting hits on the Oregon pitchers.

Morgan L. Blackwell

At one point in the fifth inning, the Warriors caught Oregon in a pickle between third and home base. The runner should have been out, but Corban flubbed it, and the Ducks scored. The important thing for the Warriors is that they have a teaching scenario to work on, and I’d be willing to bet that, come the spring season, Corban does not let that run get by.

Morgan L. Blackwell

Today was the first opportunity to see graduate transfer Emma Kauf in action. Kauf was a three-time all-ACC catcher for Georgia Tech who joined the Ducks over the summer. Vallery Wong did most of the catching duties, so Kauf wasn’t used behind the plate, but she can hit - she has a .344 career average in 175 games - so she mostly saw play as a DH.

Morgan L. Blackwell

Oregon softball next lines up for the upcoming Socktober weekend with games against Boise St., Western Washington, College of the Siskiyous, and Oregon Tech. These games will be played as regular games, unlike today’s game. The weekend is a sock drive, so bring socks for donations at any time this weekend.

All of Oregon’s softball matches will be played at The Jane and all are free of charge. A word of caution - there likely will not be concessions available, so plan accordingly.

Oregon softball plays Boise St. on Saturday, Oct 14, at 12:30 pm. It’s the first of a double-header, with Western Washington following at 3:00 pm. Both are shown on Oregon Live Stream.

You don’t have to have attended today’s game to help Maui victims of wildfire. Just scan this QR code to help - and every little bit helps.

Morgan L. Blackwell