Halftime rapid reaction: Oregon leads Bowling Green 37-17. @ODEsports pic.twitter.com/Vwy5hG4IXy

— Shawn Medow (@ShawnMedow) September 2, 2018

Key Plays:

— Bowling Green’s Jarret Doege hit Scott Miller for a six-yard touchdown, putting the Falcons up 10-0.

— Three plays after he kept an option for a 37-yard gain, Herbert hit Jaylon Redd for a 33 yard touchdown.

— Herbert hit Dillon Mitchell in the back of the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown.

— Justin Hollins forces a Doege fumble on a blindside tackle. Jalen Jelks recovered it at the BGSU 21-yard line.

— Justin Herbert runs in a two-yard touchdown to put Oregon up 21-10.

— Johnson III carries two defenders five-yards for a 40-yard touchdown.

— Oregon got a safety when Bowling Green had an errant snap when punting.

— Cyrus Habibi-Likio extended Oregon’s lead to 37 with a five-yard touchdown run.

— Andrew Clair catches a nine-yard touchdown to make it 37-17.

— Both La’Mar Winston and Cam McCormick left the game with injury.

Oregon passing

Justin Herbert — 7-of-13 passing, 145 yards, three touchdowns

Oregon rushing

Justin Herbert — six rushes, 41 yards, one touchdown

CJ Verdell — seven rushes, 32 yards

Darrian Felix — three rushes, 17 yards

Tony Brooks-James — five rushes, 27 yards

Cyrus Habibi-Likio — one rush, five yards, one touchdown

Oregon receiving

Dillon Mitchell — two receptions, 15 yards, one touchdown

Johnny Johnson III — one reception, 40 yards, one touchdown

Jaylon Redd — one reception, 33 yards, one touchdown

Tony Brooks-James  — one reception, 53 yards

Oregon total offense

261 total yards.

Bowling Green passing

Jarret Doege —  15-of-23, 125 yards passing, two touchdown.

Bowling Green rushing

Andrew Clair — 15 rushes, 73 yards

Bryson Denley — eight rushes, 25 yards

Bowling Green receiving

Scott Miller — 10 receptions, 83 yards, one touchdown

Andrew Clair — two receptions, 15 yards, one touchdown

Bowling Green total yards

200 total yards.

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack

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Penei Sewell / Tackle / Oregon

Early in fall camp, head coach Mario Cristobal named Sewell as someone he has noticed making a large impact. The 6-foot-6, 364-pound freshman works along the line, but has recently been with the first team at left tackle. Whether he gets the start or rotates later in the game remains to be seen, but Oregon has found its left tackle of the future.

Jarret Doege / Quarterback / Bowling Green

In seven games, Doege started five and threw for 1,381 yards, 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He missed some time due to injury but led Bowling Green to its second victory of the season, defeating Kent State 44-16. That game, which saw Doege throw for two touchdowns and run for one, produced the highest offensive output for the Falcons all season. Other members of the Doege family have the quarterback gene as well. Jarret’s older brother Seth threw for 8,636 yards and 69 touchdowns at Texas Tech, which earned a preseason tryout with the Atlanta Falcons.

Marcus Milton / Safety and Punt Returner / Bowling Green

Milton started 10 games last season at safety after switching from cornerback. He tied the team lead in interceptions with three. Milton forced and recovered a fumble against Buffalo last season and finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles. The redshirt senior will most likely be the team’s punt returner as well. Milton averaged 8 yards per return.

Jevon Holland / Safety / Oregon

Holland will most likely come off the bench against Bowling Green, and he should see plenty of action given the talent discrepancies between teams. Holland has been making plays all fall camp and is garnering a lot of deserved attention and some comparisons to recent Oregon standouts.

“He kind of reminds me of Reggie Daniels athleticism-wise,” senior safety Ugochukwu Amadi said. “He’s very athletic. … He’s one of those guys that wants to learn more. He pushes the freshmen in his class.”

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Five days after a dominant 3-0 win over Portland State to kick off the home-campaign, the No. 18 Oregon volleyball team returned to action Friday, hosting Utah Valley and Long Beach State in the Oregon Classic.

The Ducks defeated Utah Valley 25-16, 25-23, 25-12 to clinch their first match of the Oregon Classic. Although the scoreboard showed Oregon defeated Utah Valley 3-0, it really didn’t do the Wolverines justice.

Utah Valley and Oregon were locked in quite the battle during the second set, which saw 15 ties. Neither team led by more than two points until Oregon took a 23-20 lead.

Following a timeout, the Wolverines were able to tie the set back up at 23 which led Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer to take a timeout of his own. The Ducks then took the next two points and the set.

The first and third sets were eerily similar with the Ducks and Wolverines trading points until about halfway through, where Oregon pulled away.

Leading the Ducks offensively were Willow Johnson with 14 kills, Taylor Borup with 11 kills and August Raskie with 38 assists.

Defensively, Brooke Nuneviller had 18 digs, Lindsey Vander Weide had 16 digs and Ronika Stone had seven blocks.

“The rest of [Vander Weide’s] game, other than passing is great,” Ulmer told reporters. “To be her size at 6’3 and to be able to do all the things she does around the floor … I think we have enough pieces around her offensively where she can focus on offense more.”

In the later match, Oregon had no problem dispatching Long Beach State, winning 3-0.

“I liked our emotional consistency tonight,” Ulmer said. “I thought it was the most engaged we were as a team. I thought everyone came prepared tonight. I didn’t think that earlier today.”

The Ducks dominated all three sets winning them 25-14, 25-17, 25-18.

Sumeet Gil had 12 kills and four blocks while Raskie added another 35 assists to bring her total on the day to 73.

“I think August and Sumeet are two of the best offensive middles in the country,” Ulmer said. “The threat of August dumping the ball really opens them up behind.”

This match meant a little more to Ulmer, who coached for the college from 2007-2013.

The Ducks will retake the court Saturday at 1 p.m. to take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack

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Heavy expectations were placed upon the 2017 Oregon Ducks football team after missing a bowl game for the first time in over 10 seasons. The team’s coaches and Twitter account preached “Do Something,” as a way to win some fans back in the offseason. Once the season started, it was time to either do it or continue the bad taste that was left in everyone’s mouth after Oregon lost the 2016 Civil War in Corvallis.

On the opening kickoff of the first game of the 2017 season against Southern Utah, Oregon running back Tony Brooks-James did something.

Brooks-James caught the opening kickoff one yard deep in the end zone and took the ball back for a touchdown with blocks from Troy Dye, Hunter Kampmoyer, Jonah Moi and Kaulana Apelu. It was possibly the most exciting play by Oregon all season and it was not a pick six or a 60-yard pass. It was a kickoff return, and Brooks-James was the very first Duck to touch the ball. One play, 101 yards, six points. Although the play brought so much excitement, it was the lone special teams touchdown by Oregon all season.

Now “Do Something,” and the coach who coined the phrase are gone. Mario Cristobal and new special teams coach Bobby Williams are here and ready to bring the Ducks back to their 2014 glory where touchdowns came in all forms.

Often unnoticed by fans until a problem arises, Williams sees special teams as the third side of the game, making or breaking a team. Oregon experienced both sides last season. The Brooks-James touchdown put them up 6-0, but Washington’s Dante Pettis’ go-ahead punt return touchdown broke a 3-3 tie over the Ducks in November.

Williams is the newest Oregon special teams coach and the 30-year coaching veteran boasts quite the résumé. He has spent his last 10 years coaching Alabama where he contributed to five national championships.

The 2015-2016 National Championship in particular had his special teams unit on full display. The Crimson Tide blocked a field goal, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and recovered two onside kicks (one attempted by Alabama and one by Clemson) en route to the championship.

“His schemes are just off the charts,” wide receiver Brenden Schooler said. “He knows what the heck he’s doing. I don’t think I’ve been around a smarter special teams coach since I’ve been in college. … He’s showed us [Kenyan Drake’s kickoff return in the National Championship] a few times, saying “If we catch you slipping, we’re gonna take advantage of it.”

Schooler is returning for his third year on special teams. The former safety had seven tackles during special teams last season and learned to love it.

“You’ve got offense, defense and special teams, and if you win two out of the three, you’re most likely going to win the game,” Schooler said. “I didn’t realize how important special teams was until I came to college and saw that special teams can really change the tide of the game.”

Schooler has been a special teams contributor for two seasons and will most likely continue to be one. But with his role as a wide receiver expected to increase, Oregon will need more dynamic playmakers to step up on special teams. Wide receivers Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd are teammates Schooler says will help take the load off.

Oregon will face a decision at two major special teams positions for the first time in four seasons. Two four year starters, long snapper Tanner Carew (now with the Chicago Bears) and kicker Aidan Schneider, have graduated, forcing the Ducks to hold a competition at those spots.

Senior Devin Melendez and freshmen Karsten Battles and Peyton Yanagi are competing to start at long snapper. Although it’s not the flashiest position, any mistake would be a disastrous result for the Ducks.

“We’ve got a pretty good competition going on there, too,” Williams said. “You never notice that position until the ball goes over somebody’s head.”

Schneider will be a tough Duck to replace at placekicking and on kickoff. He hit 80 percent of his field goals last season and forced a touchback on 50 percent of his kickoffs.

Last year’s punter, Adam Stack, is the favorite to replace him in both duties. The sophomore will look to build off his first season in which he saw the field exclusively as a punter. Stack averaged 38.37 yards on 62 punts his freshman season, landing five inside the 20-yard line. This year he has added another duty: placekicking.

“The hardest part is just it’s literally two different motions,” Stack said. “Kicking, you’re coming more across your body and punting is more of a linear motion, so it’s difficult just because it’s two different muscle memories. Your body has to be able to cancel one out when you’re doing the other.”

The added responsibility could add conflict for some, but Stack believes he has found the proper training for both, alternating practice days to better separate the muscle memories.

“I try to be pretty even with them,” Stack said. “One thing I learned from one of my kicking coaches was to practice kicking one day and punting another day just so you develop that muscle memory. Of course I have days where I do both, which compares more to gameday.”

Punting does not always get the best reaction from the home crowd. Some fans in the Autzen crowd still long for the gutsy Chip Kelly “Go for it” attitude, booing when the punter enters the field, thinking it’s admitting defeat. Stack does not see it that way.

“I try not to look at it as a bad thing, but more as a not the last play for the offense, but the first play for the defense,” Stack said. “I’m helping them pin the opponent deep and hopefully if I pin them deep, [I] help the offense get the ball back and get some points on the board.”

Although Stack is the favorite for kicking duties, the punting job is up for grabs just like every other group. Junior Blake Maimone and Australian freshman Tom Snee are also competing for the punting job. Sophomore Zach Emerson and freshman Taylor Koth are the other kickers on the roster.

“We’ve got a lot of guys back there,” Williams said. “Stack’s doing a good job. Maimone is doing a great job. Our new signee, Snee, has done a great job. He’s added a different dimension for us. Emerson’s doing a great job. They’ve all raised their level of performance.”

The one who sticks out from the bunch is Snee. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the freshman specializes in a different style kick.

“Most of those guys over there play Australian rules football,” Williams said. “It’s really similar to rugby, but it’s very physical. They run around and can tackle. They specialize in kicking the football in a certain way.”

By moving across the world to play a different sport, Snee has learned an entirely new sport on the fly.

“Prior to actually being here, he’s had to learn about American rules football,” Williams said. “Anything about fourth down, what’s allowed and he also works as a holder. It’s been a learning process for him.”

The last competition probably brings the most excitement to Ducks fans. With Charles Nelson graduated and Brooks-James seeing more action at running back, both punt and kick return duties are available.

Dillon Mitchell returns as the favorite for the punt return spot. The receiver had 11 returns, averaging just over eight yards. Redd, Travis Dye, Daewood Davis and safety Ugochukwu Amadi are others who have received reps.

Williams’ top priority when choosing a returner is reliability with big plays being an added bonus.

“We chart these guys every day on being efficient on catching the football,” Williams said. “We’ve got a camera on them all the time. We’ve got a lot of guys to look at back there.”

With Williams at the lead, Oregon expects to own the third side of the game with a dynamic, do-everything unit.

“Last year we felt like everything was the same and teams were able to scheme against us much better,” Schooler said. “After this year, it’s gonna be a lot different.”

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack

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Oregon’s offense was flying.

They were undefeated after nonconference play in 2017, in which the Ducks outscored opponents 168-69, leaving a positive feeling around the team going into conference play. But a loss to Arizona State gave Oregon its first stutter of the season. However, it got much worse one game later when quarterback Justin Herbert broke his collarbone in Oregon’s 45-24 win over Cal and was unable to return to the game.

Oregon lost four of the next five games until Herbert’s return.

Now a junior and a speculated Heisman Trophy contender, the starting quarterback is excited to be back on the field.

“You find out how much football means to you, watching on the sideline,” Herbert said at Pac-12 media day. “It wasn’t easy. I took a lot of the blame and I felt pretty bad for a long time.”

When Herbert returns to the field this year, the offensive scheme won’t be too much different with a familiar coaching staff on the sidelines.

“It’s really important to have those guys come back because instead of starting fresh you get to build on what we did last year,” Herbert said. “I thought we had a good year last year and made some big steps, but didn’t roll the way we wanted to, so we’re looking forward to making a big jump this year.”

Without star running back Royce Freeman in the backfield, Tony Brooks-James will become the main running back in Oregon’s offense. But Brooks-James isn’t alone with CJ Verdell expected to get a significant amount of carries as well.

“Those guys are guys that had great offseasons with the strength staff,” Herbert said. “They both put on 10 to15 pounds. They know what they’re doing, experienced running backs, really excited to see what they do this year.”

Head coach Mario Cristobal was full of praise for Verdell at Oregon media day, saying that he has vastly improved since his arrival in Eugene last year.

“When he got here as a freshman, you could kind of trip tackle him or kind of knock him over. And now you better put your hat on him,” said Cristobal. “You better wrap your head up pretty good and rally to the football because he’s going to be a tough guy to bring down.”

Oregon also has a returning receiver core of juniors Dillon Mitchell and Brenden Schooler and sophomore Johnny Johnson III, who will probably be Herbert’s primary targets.

“They haven’t missed one workout,” Herbert said. “They’ve been out there every day. It’s always great to work with them.”

Those three receivers are not alone. Redshirt freshman Daewood Davis and sophomore Jaylon Redd adding to the position depth.

The Ducks also got a boost when Bryan Addison switched his commitment from UCLA to Oregon earlier this summer. Addison, who can play on both sides of the ball, could be an important fixture in the Ducks’ passing game.

“The wide receiver position being thin like we are, you would think naturally, you’d have a chance to play,” Cristobal said.

With experience at the offensive line, faith in a top-rated quarterback and the emergence of a young receiver core, the Ducks’ offense could be lethal in the 2018 season.

Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow

The post Oregon football offensive preview appeared first on Emerald Media.

The Ducks finished as the No. 126 ranked defense in 2016. That offseason, Oregon hired defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt to turn the program’s defense around. Last year, Leavitt’s squad became the nation’s No. 46 ranked defense, but the team isn’t satisfied.

This season, Oregon will look to build the defense into a force that the Pac-12 fears with the help of upperclassmen leadership from Ugochukwu Amadi, Troy Dye and Jalen Jelks, who have the advantage of being in a familiar scheme.

“I’m more optimistic this year because we have the same defense going into year two,” Dye said. “This is the first time for me being in the same defense two years in a row since I think my first year of high school.”

Jelks, Jordon Scott and Austin Faoliu, with Gary Baker, Gus Cumberlander, Popo Aumavae, Andrew Faoliu will be in the trenches for the Ducks. La’Mar Winston Jr. (eight tackles for loss), Justin Hollins (11.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles), Bryson Young and Keith Simms will combine off the edge.

The best judge of talent will be to ask who they are competing against every day.

“On D-line, we have the Faolius, they’re beasts,” offensive lineman Jacob Capra said. “Then you have guys like Jalen Jelks and Fat Mac (Scott) that are just amazing as well.”

There are lofty expectations for Jelks, who is fresh off a dominant junior season, which saw him lead the team in tackles-for-a-loss with 15. The defensive end was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

Scott will return as the nose guard one season after winning the Oregon freshman of the year award and was named to the Nagurski list as well as the Outland list for this season.

The linebackers might boast the most experience on the defense. Senior Kaulana Apelu is back after a season-ending injury against Cal last year, but will need to hold off the likes of redshirt-freshman Isaac Slade-Matautia, sophomore Sampson Niu and freshmen Adrian Jackson and MJ Cunningham. Slade-Matautia was a four-star recruit out of St. Louis High School and after redshirting last season, his role is expected to be large in this defense.

Fans, opposing coaches and NFL scouts will be focused on Dye. After arriving as a three-star linebacker, Dye quickly became the best player on the defense, totalling 198 tackles in two seasons. Now reprising his role as the star for the third consecutive season, head coach Mario Cristobal expects even more from Dye.

“Troy’s not satisfied with the things of the past,” Cristobal said. “He kind of lives where his feet are now. He’s been really good at pushing and encouraging his teammates and being a good team leader, mentor for the young guys. He will take that next step. We demand it of him, he demands it of himself and our football team needs that to happen.”

The youngest, but possibly the most talented, is the secondary. Sophomores Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir will start at corner with Kahlef Hailassie, Verone McKinley III, Charles Sudduth and Haki Woods filling out certain packages. Amadi will start at free safety and play some nickel corner. Nick Pickett, Mattrell McGraw, Brady Breeze, Steve Stephens and Jevon Holland will fill the other starting spot and spell Amadi.

Overall, expect this team to be a lot more physical than past Duck teams. The combination of Leavitt and Cristobal has forced a strong, NFL-style defense that will attract attention.

“Coach Cristobal stresses physicality and being able to impose your will over anybody at any time you want,” Dye said. “We’ve focused a lot on physicality this camp. … We want to play smart like we’re professionals, but we still got to go full speed and get good work in.”

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Oregon’s 2015 offensive line recruiting class entered the program and quickly became inseparable. Calvin Throckmorton, Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson and Brady Aiello continued to grow as they led the line their sophomore season, spending time with each other on and off the field.

“We just move like a herd,” Throckmorton said. “We’re just kind of always as a big group, either laying around or eating together. I think we just have a bond that’s pretty special that demands a lot from each other.”

Oregon has always been a running team, averaging 3,592 rushing yards per year since 2010, but the last two seasons they have rushed for under 3,300 yards. Last season’s returning starters — Hanson, Lemieux and Throckmorton — played over 980 snaps. That playing time offered a lot of experience, but hurt the development of depth and became a burden on only five players.

Through top-recruits and transfers, head coach Mario Cristobal, a two time national champion lineman with Miami in 1989 and 1991, and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal have increased the depth to the point where Oregon has upward of 10 linemen that they feel confident in keeping Herbert healthy.

“You’ve got to play guys,” Cristobal said. “We have a lot of good offensive linemen and playing time is going to be divvied out as they deserve it. … We do feel we’re gonna have eight, nine, 10 guys that can help us win a championship up front, and we’re gonna play them all.”

The depth chart, renamed the “organizational chart” by the staff, currently projects freshman Penei Sewell, transfer Dallas Warmack, Lemieux, Hanson and Throckmorton as starters. Names like Aiello, junior George Moore III, redshirt sophomores Jacob Capra and Sam Poutasi, redshirt freshman Alex Forsyth and freshmen  Steven Jones and Penei Sewell are all fighting for that final starting spot as well as being the first player off the bench.

The herd was without one of their leaders in the spring with Hanson being limited while recovering from a persistent injury.

“It was tough sitting out spring, but my injury was something that caused me so much trouble during [last] fall,” Hanson said. “I was able to stay level headed during the recovery process. It was tough, but I am glad to be out there healthy.”

Now that Hanson has returned, his job, along with his four partners on the line, will be to protect Herbert, which is imperative to Oregon’s success. In the games Herbert played last season, the Ducks averaged 49 points and 459 yards per game. In games without No. 10, Oregon averaged 15 points and 320 yards.

Communication will be key, and knowing the assignments up and down the line will be crucial to keep Herbert upright.

“You know, playing together for three years now, we just got more and more comfortable each year with each other,” Hanson said. “I feel like we know what everybody else is thinking. We really feel confident in the group that we got.”

The fifth lineman (most likely the right guard spot) is up in the air. Capra has the most experience with Oregon, starting his first career game last season against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Warmack, a transfer from Alabama, has received first team snaps with the Ducks after playing sparingly for the Crimson Tide. Warmack was a highly rated recruit out of Georgia, where he ultimately chose Alabama thanks to then recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach Mario Cristobal.

Although the four 2015 recruits have the most experience with Capra, Cristobal has made sure everyone understands that competition will bring out the best in each other and they will play regardless of experience.

“Competition is a beautiful thing,” Cristobal said. “That’s the best part about camp right now. Why are our guys getting better and pushing? Because there is a guy right behind him and a guy right behind him, and that’s the way it should be.”

Head coach Mario Cristobal works with the offensive linemen. Ducks Football practices at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex practice fields on Aug. 14, 2018. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The freshman class has fueled that competition. As some of the largest in the country, the six freshmen, Sewell, Jaramillo, Jones, Devin Lewis, Justin Johnson and Chris Randazzo average out to 6-foot-5-inches and 364 pounds. That is more than 40 pounds heavier than the 2015 class.

“They’re coming along well,” Hanson said. “The first couple of days are always a little rough. Guys are still trying to figure out the plays and trying to adapt to the challenge of blocking college athletes instead of the high school guys they are usually going up against. At this point in camp, they’re all starting to figure it out.”

As for freshmen standouts, Cristobal was quick to name Sewell.

“He’s almost an autocorrect guy,” Cristobal said. “You kind of put some information on him and in him, and you do it in sound bites. … ‘Foot in the ground, hat inside,’ and let him take care of the rest. Then, when you see the result with that block or particular play, it is the absolute best and most rewarding part of the profession.”

Sewell, a highly coveted four-star recruit who came to Oregon from Utah, received offers from over 20 schools. Despite his 6-foot-6-inch, 360 pound stature, Sewell has been looking up to the veterans to pick up any knowledge he can.

“Brady, Cal, Shane, they’ve all been good mentors and I just gotta stay under their wing,” Sewell said. “They’ve helped so much. Midplay, I would kind of ask one of them and they’ll tell us right away. I’d like to thank them for being very inviting and helping us out as freshmen to get going.”

Helping each other is common with the Oregon offensive line, and it’s not just freshmen asking for help.

“This O-line, we have four starters that have played the last two years,” Capra said. “So I just try to take tidbits from what they do from their success. Not to toot their horns too much, but try to model myself after what they do well.”

Although there are only five starting spots, every player has a chance to earn valuable snaps as long as they continue to show effort, talent and improvement.

“Every day’s got to be new,” Sewell said. “You’ve got to learn something every day to get better each and every day.”

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack

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The Oregon Ducks football team will begin the season inside the AP top-25 poll at No. 24. This is the 10th time in the last 11 years that Oregon is ranked in the preseason top-25.

Oregon is the fourth-ranked Pac-12 school, behind No. 6 Washington, No. 13 Stanford and No. 15 USC. Two other Pac-12 schools that received votes were Arizona and Utah, both road games for Oregon this season.

The Ducks are of course looking to earn their way back to the College Football Playoff (CFP) after winning the first ever playoff game in the 2015 Rose Bowl over Florida State.

Being ranked No. 24 would present another historical event in the CFP if Oregon were to qualify. The lowest ranked preseason team to make the CFP was Oklahoma in 2015-2016, who was ranked 19th.

Oregon also received a single top-10 vote, revealing the potential that is seen with this team.

This is not the only preseason accolade Oregon has received, numerous players have been named to trophy watchlists including Justin Herbert, Jalen Jelks, Jordon Scott and Troy Dye.

The chance of the Ducks making the playoffs relies heavily on the stars playing up to potential and the depth remaining strong. Since the creation of the playoff, the Heisman trophy winner has made the playoff three of the four years (Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry and Baker Mayfield did, Lamar Jackson did not).

Oregon starts its season on Sept. 1 against Bowling Green at Autzen Stadium.

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Oregon track and field and cross country runners Katie Rainsberger, Lilli Burdon, Tanner Anderson and Mick Stanovsek were all granted transfers from the university, according to the Register-Guard.

The news comes in the wake of former Oregon assistant coaches Andy and Maurica Powell hired on to run the University of Washington’s program. The Ducks replaced them with Helen Lehman-Winters and Ben Thomas.

Big news out of Oregon today as distance runners Katie Rainsberger, Lilli Burdon, Tanner Anderson and Mick Stanovsek are no longer Ducks. All four asked for and were granted their release so they could transfer

— Chris Hansen (@chansen_RG) August 8, 2018

The group has a large collection of accolades.

Burdon is a seven-time All-American, an NCAA Champion and a Cross Country All-Pac-12 First-Team.

Rainsberger is a five-time All-American, Two-time Cross Country All-Pac-12 First-Team, Pac-12 Cross Country Freshman of the Year, Honda Award Finalist for Cross Country.

Stanovsek is a three-time All-American, and Anderson is a two-time All-American.

Hansen also noted the absence of Judy Pendergast, Jaxson Hoey and incoming freshman Josh Hoey from the roster.

Also not on the Oregon roster is Judy Pendergast, a transfer from Harvard last season, Jaxson Hoey, a transfer from Penn State, and Josh Hoey, a top recruit who was expected to start his freshman season this fall

— Chris Hansen (@chansen_RG) August 8, 2018

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It will be hard to fill the void left by former Oregon softball head coach Mike White, but new-hire Melyssa Lombardi has a pedigree that might propel the Ducks into the national championship.

During her 21 years as Oklahoma’s pitching coach, Lombardi coached two USA softball pitchers-of-the-year and four national championship teams. She knows what it takes to win.

“The most important thing is to win and that [the pitchers] find a way to pick each other up,” Lombardi said. “If I have someone starting and they’re struggling a little bit, that the other one comes in and says ‘I got you. No problem. I’m going to get this done for you. I’m going to get this done for our team.’”

Lombardi’s first job will be to get the pitchers to buy into her distribution of innings, based on who she feels can win each inning for her team. Although she is inheriting three true aces in Megan Kleist (21-7 and a 1.32 ERA), Miranda Elish (25-2 and a 1.20 ERA) and Maggie Balint (7-1 and a 2.11 ERA), it shouldn’t be a problem to get them to buy in.

“You think of softball, what do you think of? You think of pitching,” Lombardi said. “To have three number ones, you can go a long way with three number ones.”

Although all three pitchers have excelled mostly as starters in their careers, they do have some experience out of the bullpen. Balint has the most career relief appearances with 22, while having the same number reliefs as Elish last season with eight. Kleist has 16 in her career.

“One thing I want them to understand right from the start is don’t get caught up in numbers and innings and all that, get caught up in ‘What do we need from you in order to win the game?’” Lombardi said. “So if somebody starts and I need another to come in and close, and maybe get one out. That one out is just as huge as the 6 and 2/3 innings that the other one threw.”

Lombardi is familiar with dominant staffs. At Oklahoma, she coached one of the best of all time, winning national championships in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, starting pitchers Paige Parker (31-3 with a 0.82 ERA) and Mariah Lopez (14-0 with a 1.56 ERA) and relief-ace Paige Lowary (10-2 with a 1.09 ERA) helped Oklahoma lead the NCAA with a 1.12 ERA.

“I think that’s really important that we brought in somebody who’s really good with pitching, catching, knowing the game and just having a résumé like she has,” Kleist said. “That way it keeps girls not only for this year, but years on.”

Although it will be hard at first to move on from the Mike White era, Lombardi seems to be the right coach to not only carry on that legacy, but further it.

“I think to get to Oklahoma City, you’ve got to have great athletes and they’ve got to be able to work together and understand the season,” Lombardi said. “To me, usually the last team that’s standing is the team that really knows how to be mentally tough.”

Follow Maverick Pallack on Twitter @mavpallack

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