Seven players have left the program since Mike White went to Texas and Melyssa Lombardi was hired

The extraordinary erosion of the Oregon softball roster continues.

Maggie Balint, the only remaining pitcher from last year’s deep rotation, is in the process of transferring, according to a source close to the situation.

The junior right-hander from West Grove, Pa., will be the seventh player to leave the Oregon program since coach Melyssa Lombardi was hired to replace Mike White.

Balint was an all-Pac-12 first-team selection after posting a 21-3 record and a 1.22 earned-run average as a freshman in 2017. Last season she made only 10 starts while battling through a back injury.

> Related: Oregon softball coping with chaotic season of change

Reigning Pac-12 pitcher of the year Megan Kleist left the team last month but is still attending classes at Oregon. The co-ace from the Ducks’ 2018 Pac-12 champion team, Miranda Elish, is one of the four players who transferred to Texas and will be eligible to play for White this season.

Lombardi is left with only two pitchers — lefty transfers Jordan Dail (Virginia Tech) and Maddie MacGrandle (Texas A&M) — on the roster with the 2019 season set to begin in less than three weeks.

“As far as pitching rotation, when I think of the leader of our pitchers I think of Maggie Balint,” Lombardi said before the first practice of the season last Tuesday at Jane Sanders Stadium. “Maggie did a great job leading us on the mound (in the fall) and already I’m proud of her in how she’s led these two newcomers and gotten them to feel comfortable.

“She’s done a great job with it, so I’m expecting her to lead the way.”

Last week Lombardi said she was not lowering the expectations of the program, even though there were only 17 players on the roster, including seven freshmen.

Over the weekend, the team went on a bonding trip to Hoodoo Ski Area. In a photo posted to the Oregon softball program’s Twitter account there were 16 faces remaining with Balint missing.

“With change there’s always going to be a different atmosphere and change is always difficult,” junior outfielder Haley Cruse said last week. “But I think we’ve brought in a lot of talented people and we have a lot of new talented freshmen coming in too. So I’m excited to see what these new people have to offer our team.

“I think our team chemistry is really good right now and I’m excited to get more experience on the field with the team.”

Before the Ducks went on the retreat, The Register-Guard published a story detailing the differing opinions between Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens, deputy athletic director/senior women's administrator Lisa Peterson and White on the coach's market value as he was negotiating with Texas.

Balint tweeted “Without TRUST there’s nothing” on Friday shortly after White’s side of the story became public.

Oregon, which won five Pac-12 championships and appeared in five Women's College World Series during White's nine seasons, opens the Lombardi era Feb. 8 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Balint would have been the likely starter in the first game of the tournament against Kansas and the ace of the staff this season.

Elish, former Marist High standout Lauren Burke, centerfielder Shannon Rhodes and catcher Mary Iakopo are all playing for White at Texas. Kleist plans to pitch for Louisiana at Lafayette in 2020, and freshman Alyssa Pinto is completing her transfer to Mississippi.