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Friday marks two years since the passing of Jane Sanders. One day earlier, ground was broken on a fitting, lasting tribute to the former UO cheerleader remembered by one of her grandchildren as “an Oregon Duck to the core.” A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for Jane Sanders Stadium, the new softball facility that will replace Howe Field. The 1,500-seat stadium will be the centerpiece of a facility scheduled to open in March 2016, housing an Oregon softball team that’s reached the Women’s College World Series three of the last four seasons. “They’ve really done that with one arm tied behind their back,” UO athletic director Rob Mullens said. “For those young ladies, we haven’t been able to give them all we would have liked to – until now.” Mullens, senior women’s administrator Lisa Peterson, fundraiser Herb Yamanaka and softball coach Mike White participated in the groundbreaking along with Bob Sanders. The former UO football player provided $16 million in donations for the project, named in honor of his wife, whom Sanders met while a student at Oregon.
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Oregon State freshmen KJ Harrison and Drew Rasmussen have earned invitations from USA Baseball to compete for roster spots on the 2015 Collegiate National Team. Both will start play with Team USA June 18 and look to make it to the team’s 24-man roster. Team USA will open up its summer slate June 20 against the Holly Spring Salamanders, and is scheduled to play 17 games through July 8. Teams on that schedule include Chinese Taipei (June 22-29) and Cuba (July 1-6). All 17 games are slated to played in the state of North Carolina, with stadiums in Cary, Durham and Charlotte. Both Harrison and Rasmussen were named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team on Wednesday, and each was also named a First-Team All-Pac-12 performer last week. Harrison was also named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.