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QuickTake:
From the leadoff spot to the dugout, Butler’s historic bat and leadership helped fuel a sweep of Iowa.
Elon Butler was almost perfect.
Sure, the Oregon senior went 6-for-6 Saturday in a 14-13 extra-inning win over Iowa. And yes, the Cal transfer notched the first cycle in Oregon history when she doubled down the right-field line to spark a four-run seventh inning that tied the game.
The accolade was an honor, she said.
But she saved her deepest emotions for a ball that got away — a fifth-inning Devin Simon solo shot that Butler nearly robbed at the wall.
“It touched my glove,” Butler told reporters before putting her head in her hands. “It touched my glove, and I was sick, man. But next time.”
To be fair to Butler, it’s easier to single out a rare mistake in a season where success has been the norm.
The San Jose native is batting .437 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 48 RBIs — all team-leading numbers. She gets on base more than 52 percent of the time and is on pace to put up numbers that would vastly outperform her sophomore season at Cal, which earned her second-team All-America honors, and her junior year, when she batted .361 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs.
She hit the ground running in Eugene, then hit another gear over the weekend when coach Melyssa Lombardi shifted the right fielder to the leadoff spot.
Butler led off the bottom of the first with a home run and finished the three-game sweep of the Hawkeyes hitting .538 with a double, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
“I think it looks pretty good to me,” Lombardi said of an Oregon lineup that scored runs in 14 of the 22 innings it played against Iowa. “I’m one that I shift the lineup. I’ve been doing it since I’ve been here. I just feel like it’s just shifting it around and finding a way that’s really going to allow us to flow, and goodness, we just flowed all game long.”
Butler had previously been hitting primarily out of the No. 3 spot in the order.
“I definitely settled in and got a little bit more comfortable,” Butler said. “But nothing changes with my mentality. I still stay aggressive. I still try to hit all the balls over the plate and just be myself when I’m up there and just be athletic and keep things really simple.”
With the sweep of Iowa, No. 15 Oregon improved to 30-9 overall and 11-2 in Big Ten play before traveling to Maryland for a three-game set against the last-place Terrapins beginning Friday.
Then the Ducks return home for seven of their final 10 games of the year. And in her final season of college softball, Butler has become quite fond of her new digs.
“I love playing here so much,” Butler said on Saturday. “The way that our fans support us is incredible, like even them just stomping their feet … it was just amazing.”
And whether Butler remains in the leadoff spot or not, Lombardi has found a player her team will follow no matter where she hits in the order.
“I think Elon’s been an excellent offensive leader for this group,” Lombardi said. “We come off defense and she’s giving them the plan and they’re getting after it.”
