Little League All-Star Girl To Play For Oregon Ducks
- Updated: February 15, 2022
(Former baseball star Abigail Steffen “throws the O”, University of Oregon’s “O” gesture, after verbally committing to join the Ducks. Photo courtesy of Horvat Recruiting Videos.)
Congratulations to Sweetwater Valley Little League of Bonita’s former baseball all-star Abigail Steffen on her verbal commitment to play softball for the University of Oregon Ducks!!
The female baseball star-turned-softball standout chose Oregon after getting heavily recruited. Numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools expressed interest in Steffen. She attended many recruitment camps, including three hosted by the Ducks. In the end, the towering 6′-1″ captain of Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School Titans chose Oregon.
Little League star.
“I knew the moment I met Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi last year at Oregon’s elite camp held in Colorado that she is exactly the style of coach I want to play for in college,” Steffen told CaliSports News last week during an exclusive interview. “Oregon moved up the ranks to my dream school after visiting the amazing campus in January 2022 for yet another camp. Meeting the full coaching staff at that camp in Eugene validated my gut feeling from Colorado!”
(Lft. to rt.: Melyssa Lombardi, Abigail Steffen, Sam Marder. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
That staff includes recently-hired assistant coach Sam Marder. Oregon hired Marder last summer after her previous program won the 2021 national title. Marder had served as a volunteer analyst for the University of Oklahoma Sooners. She played a vital role in developing the Sooners’ explosive offense. Last year’s national champions scored a whopping 10.63 runs per game. Oklahoma did so while leading the country in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and walks. Marder will work closely with Steffen’s batting once the high school slugger enters college in Fall 2023. Lombardi also shares ties to Oklahoma. Oregon hired Lombardi as its head coach after she served on the Sooners’ coaching staff for 21 seasons. Lombardi primarily worked with the Sooners’ pitchers. In her final year at Oklahoma, 2018, Lombardi’s pitchers led the nation with a team earned run average of only 1.12. Amazing!
Bigtime program.
Oregon competes in the NCAA’s Pac-12 Conference. The Ducks captured five Pac-12 titles starting in 2013. Oregon never won a national championship, but the Ducks played in five of the past nine Women’s College World Series held in Oklahoma City, OK. So, as for Steffen, she will join a bigtime program. The young baseball player that CaliSports News featured several times during the past four years will soon have her chance to compete on softball’s biggest stages.
(Abigail Steffen “throws the O” with Melyssa Lombardi. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
“It seems so crazy to know I’ll be playing ball at Jane Sanders Stadium,” Steffen said, referring to the Ducks’ 2,500-seat capacity home field located in Eugene, OR. “Dreams do come true!”
Let’s Go Firecrackers !!
As for many CSN readers that followed Steffen’s career, it might seem equally crazy to know that the Chula Vista girl that made headlines for striking out her local Little League boys will soon play for one of the top softball teams in the nation. September 2020 marks the last time CSN provided an update on Steffen. At that time, CSN mentioned that she played travel ball for the Firecrackers. Steffen continues to do so, as a member of San Diego’s Firecrackers MG. Steffen credits that team’s Head Coach Sal Mata, and its coaching staff, including Tony Garcia, Tommy Hinzo, and Nicole Meyer-Sández, for quickly developing Abby into a Pac-12-caliber performer.
(From left to right: Tony Garcia, Abigail Steffen, Nicole Meyer-Sández, Sal Mata. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)
In the above photo, Steffen, Meyer-Sández, and Mata “throw the O” in support of Abby’s future team. However, Garcia jokingly flashes “Fours Up“, a hand sign belonging to the University of California at Los Angeles Bruins. His daughter, Alyssa Garcia, plays catcher for UCLA’s softball team. Last year, Alyssa was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team. This season, Alyssa plays as a redshirt sophomore. According to this sportswriter’s calculations, in the 2024 season, Alyssa will compete as a senior. 2024 also marks when Steffen steps onto “The Jane” as a freshman.
Pac-12 showdown.
Meaning, Alyssa Garcia and Abby Steffen, two standouts from Chula Vista that have each played for the Firecrackers, could play against each other in a Pac-12 showdown that year. What a match-up that would be for Tony, father of one and coach of the other. Until then, stay tuned! Oregon still seeks its first national championship. Perhaps the Firecrackers’ current star and former Little League ace will serve as the Ducks’ difference-maker. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!
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