SPORTS
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Junior pitcher Katie Wiese (leftI and senior first baseman Julie
Cavanau/fh will attain be the leaders of the Ore/ton softball
team this season.
Softball team to sport new look
Brown wants Oregon to be more aggressive at the plate
By Ashley Conklin
f.mf'aid Spoils Editoi
There wouldn't seem to In*
much to change with the Ore
gon softball team
After all. the Ducks have one
of the most successful pro
grams in the nation and have
made it to post season play the
past two seasons
Hut second-year Coach Tami
Hrmvn has revamped the Ore
gon offense this winter, and
with the loss of 10 players from
last season s squad. Brown has
a distini tlv new team
And it won’t l>e a team that
will have to be carried by ju
nior pitcher Katie \\ iese either,
as Brown looks for an explosive
offense and the team's depth to
In* the mainstays of Ibis group
“We ll he a more productive
team and a more mature team."
Brown said.
Although Oregon finished
:t5-2:i last season and tied for
third in the Bacifii Hi Confer
ence with a ‘Ml league slate, it
took Brown and the rest of the
team most of die season to ad
just tu new personalities and a
new style of play
While Brown said she didn't
feel any pressure to come into a
program that went 54-11 over
all and tied for fifth in the Col
lege Softball World Series, she
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would much rather look ahead
to this season than dwell on
last year.
"I knew we had talent and I
knew the kids, hut I think it
was hard to adjust to the per
sonalities." she said "They
were used to (former Coach)
Teresa (Wilson) and didn't
know my style I'm glad the
first year is over."
Probably no one will benefit
more from having worked with
Brown and pitching coac h Mi
chele Smith — a former all
American at Oklahoma State
than Wiese
After being named the Pac-10
player of the year in 1989 when
she was 42 13, Wiese struggled
with a new NCAA rule on foot
mound placement and was
24-12 last year Still, she was
virtually unhittable and was
again one of the most dominat
ing pitchers in the Pac-10.
Wiese has added a change-up
to her repertoire and Brown
said her star pitcher is "10
times better.”
"She's more in control,"
Brown said. "With her change
up she is so much better than
she ever has been ”
Brown also said that Wiese,
who threw t>47 innings in her
first two seasons, won’t pitch
as much this season with fresh
man Kachelle Taylor taking
over some of the load
Not only did W'iese struggle
at times last year, but so did the
rest of the Ducks offensively,
which is why Brown has decid
ed to make this team a much
more explosive one.
"Last year they were looking
for their pitch too much and
not taking enough cuts," she
said "I want to change their at
titude on hitting so they know
to crush the ball when it’s any
where near the zone
"1 don’t want them to be ten
tative out there.” Brown said.
“We need to attack (the pitch)
more and explode on it "
While the Ducks have been a
run-and-slap team in the past.
Brown said that with teams
now knowing how to defense
the slap technique, it’s become
obsolete.
"It’s literally been run in the
ground," she said.
leading Oregon at the plate
this season will again be senior
first baseman |ulie Cavanaugh,
along with junior shortstop
Kim Manning, junior
rightfielder Anna Poore and ju
nior catcher Tracey Simmons.
Cavanaugh had an outstand
ing year last season after mostly
playing catcher the year before.
She led the team with a .351
average. 32 runs scored and 15
stolen bases.
"I don't think there's a better
first baseman in the country.”
Brown said of Cavanaugh
The key to the Duck attack
could likely be Manning, now
comfortably entrenched at
shortstop after learning the po
sition last season.
Two years ago Manning was
a second-team all-American
while hitting .124 and setting a
school-record 19 stolen bases as
the team's designated player.
Manning fell off to only a 2(>ti
average last season though
while trying to learn the new
position.
"I think Kim really should
have been playing shortstop
here all along.” Brown said.
Manning is also a perfect ex
ample of what Brown is look
ing for offensively this season,
still emphasizing an aggressive
running game on the bases
while also hitting for power.
"Kirn has very explosive po
tential." Brown said "She has
to know to drag the ball when
they’re playing back and hit for
power. Like 1 told her, she has
a cut that can part your hair."
Brown has moved Poore to
the outfield this season after
she mostly pitched and was the
designated player last year. The
move to the outfield was made
to take some of the pressure off
Poore. Brown said, and she
likes Poore's potential as a
rightfielder.
While Simmons, a two-year
starter at different positions,
has again settled in at catcher
this season, Oregon will start
two freshmen, Jennifer Tophain
and Patty Pyles at second and
third base, respectively.
Both Topham and Pyles
bring speed to the infield and
Brown is counting on lx)th to
shore up some of the defensive
problems the Ducks had there
last season.
Senior Kelly Finley will re
turn to start at leftfield, while
junior college transfer Marnie
McCall, a two-time all-Ameri
can at Central Arizona College,
will play centerfield.
“She could be the best out
fielder Oregon has ever seen.1'
Brown said of McCall.
The Ducks will once again
play one of the toughest sched
ules in the country, facing na
tionally-ranked UCLA, Califor
nia, Arizona and Arizona State
in conference action Oregon
will also play in three of the na
tion's premiere tournaments,
including the Arizona Softball
Classic, where Oregon begins
the season Thursday against
Ohio State
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