The Pac-12's leading hitter during conference play this spring wasn't even a full-time starter to open the season.
Sophomore Haley Cruse was the Ducks' opening day right fielder. But over the first dozen games of the spring, she started just four, and played in four others as a defensive replacement. Ultimately, UO coach Mike White figured, that latter role could be Cruse's primary path to playing time in 2018.
But thanks to a willingness to adapt, and countless early mornings alone in the batting cages, Cruse finished the regular season as Oregon's leading hitter, with a .