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Oregon Softball Makes Run at College World Series   
5/17/2013
By Jes Burns

The University of Oregon women’s softball team began play in the NCAA tournament Thursday night, winning 5-2 over BYU.   They defeated UNC 3-0 on Friday morning.  The Ducks are seeded #3 and are playing host to one of 16 regional rounds nationwide.   
 
Fast pitch softball isn’t a sport that normally attracts a lot of attention, so KLCC’s Jes Burns put together this audio primer so new fans can better follow the Ducks as they make a run at the College World Series.

 
Reporter
If you know a thing or two about baseball, chances are that same thing or two apply to softball.  The sports are intrinsically linked, played in roughly the same way.  They share things like the
pop of the ball hitting a mitt, the ire of a coach when the ump doesn’t make the call they want, and the roar of the crowd when a player hits a home run
 
But there are some significant differences – first that ball you heard hitting the mitt – it’s about the size of grapefruit – 12 inches around, compared to the nine inches of a baseball.  And it’s less dense, so that means it doesn’t fly as far when hit.   Which brings us to the field…
 
“We’re standing at Howe Field right now, which is the home to Oregon softball, located right here in the shadow of MacArthur Court on the campus of the University of Oregon.”
 
That’s U of O student Ryan Rouillard, he’s been doing Ducks softball play-by-play for KWVA campus radio all year. 
 
“It’s 190 to the corner, 220 out to center.  Wall are a little bit lower in some places.  It’s a pretty standard field as most of them go.  Not a lot of room behind home plate, but again softball is one of those sports, unlike baseball, where it’s a little more of a uniform dimension.” 
 
The whole field is smaller – bases closer together, pitcher’s mound closer to home.  Now the image most commonly associated with softball is of that pitcher, taking what seems to be a wild lunge forward while throwing underhand with an exaggerated windmill motion.  The best softball pitchers can throw in the 60 and 70 mph range, which is far slower than a baseball pitcher.  But when you consider the softball mound is 20 feet closer to home, the amount of time a batter has to react is just about the same in both sports.  
 
And those batters – they don’t get to go to the plate in the relative peace of a baseball game.  Softball players go to bat with a sound track.  A never-ending soundrack from their own dugout. 
 
That seriously never ends.
 
But the incessant chatter and enthusiasm from the women who play softball is really unmatched in any other sport.  They’re constantly encouraging each other, keeping the mood light even in the most critical of moments, and celebrating their team and the sport itself.  Again Rouillard:
 
“Softball is a really fun sport.  I think the diamond sports often get a knack for being too slow, or too boring, or dragging on.  But softball is a sport that really moves. It’s a game that typically is done within two hours, pitches come a lot faster, the game is shorter – it’s only seven innings by regulation versus nine. Lots of fun plays mixed in there too with the small field.  More to offer than baseball, maybe, for those fans who don’t like the speed of the game.”
 
The NCAA Eugene Regional continues today at the Howe Field at the University of Oregon.  It’s a double elimination tournament.  The Ducks play the University of North Carolina Tar Heels at 11am.  If the Ducks lose, they’ll play again at 5. If they win, they’ll advance to the potential championship game Saturday at noon. 
 
Oregon State is also playing in the NCAA softball tournament.  The Beavers begin play today against Hofstra in the Missouri Regional at 1pm Pacific time.   
 
 
 


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