Sophomore Haley Cruse reinvented her swing with countless hours of work alone in the batting cages, and is Oregon's leading hitter entering the start of NCAA Regional play Thursday.

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 .379 average. And, defying convention, she was even better against the elite pitching of the Pac-12, batting .426 in conference play – leading the league by a full 70 points over the next-best hitter.

"I've come to believe I can be a difference-maker on this team," said Cruse, who will be in right field when the Ducks open NCAA Regional play in Jane Sanders Stadium against UAlbany on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. "That was something that was really new to me."

Cruse was a late addition to Oregon's No. 1-rated recruiting class of 2016, which included Miranda Elish , Maggie Balint , Shannon Rhodes and Mia Camuso . In high school she thrived as a top-of-the-order presence akin to her current teammate with the Ducks, Alexis Mack – chop the ball into the ground, then beat the throw to first thanks to above-average speed.

That style helped Cruse hit .487 as a high school senior. But it didn't translate to college; a right-handed hitter, Cruse couldn't get out of the box fast enough to reach first against the vastly improved infield defenses she was now facing. As a freshman last fall, she hit just .190.

Thus, White had her tabbed for a defensive role in 2018, were someone like Shay Bowden or Lauren Burke able to win the starting job in right field. But two developments muddled that plan – nobody else made a decisive case for the job early in the spring, and Cruse made up her mind to reinvent herself at the plate. Then, she put in the work to make it a reality.

"You could see the power in her swing," White said. "When she connects it's like, 'Wow – that kid hit that ball that hard?' She just needed to understand her swing path; there was a hole in her swing the opposition was attacking. Once we addressed that and she focused on it, she started to hit those pitches. All of a sudden: Boom, there you go."





Determined to avoid a repeat of her freshman year struggles, Cruse sat down with UO hitting coach Jimmy Kolaitis over the offseason to rebuild both her swing and her confidence. The Ducks didn't want to start from scratch; Cruse's natural swing allowed her to get to riseballs, and coaches didn't want to eliminate that. They fine-tuned her mechanics, and set her loose to build new muscle memory.

The "difference maker" in Cruse's sophomore year improvement, she said, has been hourlong hitting sessions early in the morning, two or three times a week when her class schedule allows. Under the watchful eye of Kolaitis, she'll progress from hitting off a tee, to front toss, to a pitching machine.

She's not always alone. Cruse will invite teammates to join her. As often as not, senior Jenna Lilley is also in getting extra work; "you can never get her out of the cage," Cruse said with a laugh. But Cruse has been known to hit on her own, after lifting weights first-thing in the morning.

"I was trying to figure out my swing, and who I wanted to be as a hitter," she said. "I don't think I really knew my identity. Was it small ball? Was I a table-setter? I think this year I definitely figured out who I am as a hitter."

Hitting out of the No. 9 spot, Cruse still considers herself something of a table-setter. She wants to get on base and turn over the lineup. The difference is, she's not just looking to do so with an infield single. Now, it could be a double to the gap.

The change didn't happen without a hitch; Cruse said the competition for playing time weighed on her to open this season. She began the year by going 2-for-17. She started pressing, and regressed to her old swing, which only compounded the struggles.

But something clicked right around the start of conference play. Against Weber State on March 9, Cruse had two hits off the bench. That sparked what ended up being a season-best hit streak of seven games, which carried over into the start of Pac-12 play. The next day, March 10, Cruse was back in the starting lineup. She's been a regular ever since.

"We're creatures of habit, and sometimes it's hard to change," White said. "You've got to get them to take that leap of faith. And hopefully when they do, they stick with it."

Cruse has done exactly that. Since that 2-for-17 start to the season, she's gone 37-of-86 – hitting at a .430 clip. She led the Pac-12 not just in hitting during conference play, but also in on-base average (.470). Her 20 runs and seven doubles both led the Ducks during their 21-3 run to the Pac-12 title, and she tied teammate Gwen Svekis with a team-high 26 hits in conference play.

What if, Cruse was asked this week, somebody had told her in the preseason that she would end up leading the Pac-12 in hitting during conference play?

"I wouldn't have believed them," she said.

Fortunately, the UO coaches believed in Cruse, and she learned to believe in herself. She's an impact bat on the Oregon softball team. And there's no longer any question about her status in the starting lineup.