Homegrown star Ariel Carlson takes final swings with Oregon softball as Ducks host Beavers

The hometown kid is nearing the end of her storybook college career.

Before it’s over, however, she’s hoping to write a few more chapters and take many more big swings.

Oregon softball’s Ariel Carlson, who is having the best season of her five years as a Duck, will be among the nine seniors playing their last regular-season games at Jane Sanders Stadium this week when No. 20 Oregon hosts Oregon State in a three-game series Friday-Sunday.

Carlson, a Eugene native who as a young Oregon fan would line up early outside the gates of old Howe Field in order to get the perfect general admission seat to watch the Ducks play, is now one of the star attractions.

With a rare blend of power and speed — she is one of only four players nationally with 12 or more home runs and 14 or more steals — the outfielder has developed into one of the best players in the Pac-12.

This season, Carlson is batting .350 and is tied for the conference lead with 12 home runs and 45 RBI. An Oregon player hasn’t ended the season as the conference leader in those categories since 2007 when Ann Marie Topps had 19 homers and Jenn Salling had 73 RBI.

Carlson is also tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with 10 doubles, tied for fifth with 14 stolen bases and is third in slugging at .733.

“I think my work ethic is something I take a lot of pride in,” Carlson said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout my career but I’ve always been able to bounce back and be there in big moments.”

With seven games to go before the Pac-12 Tournament May 8-11 in Stanford, California, Carlson has 40 career homers and 149 career RBIs, which rank fourth and eighth all-time at Oregon, respectively.

“To watch her as a person and as a teammate, what she has done for this program, for us, and watching her grow, has been amazing,” Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi said. “I just think her work ethic is unmatched.”

Ariel Carlson's been an Oregon Duck for a decade

It’s been 10 years since Carlson determined she would play for the Oregon softball team.

Just 13 years old and in eighth grade, Carlson gave then-coach Mike White a non-binding verbal commitment to become a Duck.

The NCAA has since created a rule that states recruitable athletes can’t be contacted until after their sophomore year of high school, but it wasn’t uncommon at the time Carlson committed for coaches to scout young players.

“That feels like a long time ago,” she said with a laugh. “I felt very young when that happened, and I was. It all worked in my favor and I would do the same thing if I could go back in time.”

White clearly knew talent when he saw it, as Carlson would go on to a standout career in high school at Marist.

She was the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year as both a junior and senior and finished her high school career as the Oregon state record-holder with 72 home runs and 252 RBI — 26 more homers and 45 more RBI than anyone else.

When White departed for Texas after the 2018 season and Lombardi was hired, Carlson said her commitment never wavered, despite a new coaching staff.

“Honestly,” she said, “it was never a decision I had to make.”

It also wasn’t a hard decision to take advantage of a fifth season of eligibility offered up by the NCAA to make up for the playing through the COVID-19 pandemic. The thought of leaving to play her final season elsewhere, something that has become more come in the transfer portal era, was also something she didn’t consider.

“Our coaching staff is amazing, I would put our team chemistry next to anyone in the country, and obviously the facilities are amazing and the Jane speaks for itself,” she said. “But also, I’m a big home body and I’m a big family person. Having my family 10-15 minutes away is super nice. … There’s just a lot of factors that made it never be a question for me.”

A reunion at Jane Sanders Stadium

Carlson’s ability to hit for power helped make her a star in high school, but she also was one of the best pitchers in the state. She went 33-4 with 327 strikeouts while at Marist, and though she’s never thrown a pitch in a college game, she still hasn’t lost her skillset.

Earlier this season while waiting for her game to start during a break at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic tournament, Carlson picked up a ball and casually started throwing pitches.

“(Associate head coach Sam Marder) was like, ‘Ariel, go pitch, show them,’” she said. “Coach Marder got out the radar then told me to throw a changeup so then I did and everyone was like, ‘Ariel!’ I said, ‘I’ve tried to tell you guys, I can pitch.’”

Her teammates might have been surprised, but not her coach.

“She’s got a great changeup, can spin the ball backwards for a rise, she can spin forwards for a drop,” Lombardi said. “I think that tells you type of athlete she is. Before she got here she played on the corners. I think she’s done everything but catch.”

Carlson never had to get behind the plate in high school because that position was always taken by Abby Doerr, another standout player for the Spartans who was also once committed to the Ducks at a young age.

Doerr, the 2019 OSAA Class 4A player of the year, didn’t stick with Oregon during the coaching change and instead played her first three seasons at Alabama and transferred to Oregon State before the 2023 season.

They were coached at Marist by Abby’s mom, former Oregon player Missy Doerr.

Abby Doerr will be with the Beavers in Eugene this week, as will her sister Paige Doerr, a freshman for Oregon State who also played for Marist.

“Her and I were tied to the hip in high school and then we played for the same travel ball team,” Carlson said of Abby Doerr. “Her mom was my second mom for a while. I love that family to death. It’s bittersweet to be having my senior day and she’ll be here.”

Carlson will no doubt take it in stride, just as she has all season.

“I feel like I’m having a good year and I’m enjoying every moment of it,” Carlson said. “I really learned this year to be as present as possible.”

No. 20 Oregon (24-15, 10-7 Pac-12) vs. Oregon State (17-23, 5-10)

Where: Jane Sanders Stadium

TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: KWVA-FM 88.1

Game 1: 5 p.m. Friday

Game 2: 6 p.m. Saturday

Game 3: 4 p.m. Sunday

Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks softball vs. OSU Beavers: Game time, how to watch