Yovan To Make First Start Saturday
03/21/18 | Baseball, @GoDucksMoseley
Closer Kenyon Yovan will look to solidify Oregon's starting pitching by moving to the rotation for this weekend's series against Cal in PK Park.
Oregon's quest for consistent starting pitching has led the UO coaching staff to an unlikely source: the back of the bullpen.
Sophomore closer Kenyon Yovan, a finalist for NCBWA Stopper of the Year last spring, will be on the mound to start the second game of the series Saturday when Oregon hosts California this weekend in PK Park. The Ducks (12-7) and Golden Bears kick off the series Friday at 6 p.m., and the first pitch of Yovan's first career start will be delivered Saturday at 2 p.m.
Oregon is coming off three losses at Arizona State in which the Saturday and Sunday starters combined to give up nine earned runs in less than five innings. The Saturday starter to open this season, junior lefty Cole Stringer, missed the trip with an arm injury, and is out at least one more week.
"That all added up to us feeling like Kenyon might be the best Saturday guy we have," UO coach George Horton said.
Yovan received multiple all-America honors last spring after finishing with 15 saves and a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings over 22 appearances. He struck out 36 and walked just six, allowing opposing hitters to bat just .213.
In 11 appearances as a sophomore, Yovan has five saves and a 3.86 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts and has allowed a .203 average across 16 1/3 innings, but with 14 walks.
"Although Kenyon hasn't been automatic, we think he's a tremendous pitcher," Horton said. "And he can pitch in either role."
The back of the bullpen has been bolstered this spring by the emergence of junior Parker Kelly, who is 4-0 in 11 relief appearances. Kelly has 28 strikeouts and two walks, and hitters are batting .183 against him over 17 1/3 innings.
Sophomore Ryne Nelson (two saves) also has helped with closer duties, when not playing shortstop. He's unscored upon in 5 2/3 innings over four appearances, with 11 strikeouts, one walk and two hits allowed.
Removing Yovan from the back end still leaves two capable arms to close games. And hopefully his addition to the rotation results in more save chances for them.
"It doesn't do you any good to have three potential superstars in the back of the bullpen if you don't have the lead at that point," Horton said.
The change in roles is far from a knee-jerk reaction. Horton and UO pitching coach Jason Dietrich had been considering Yovan for a starting spot since the fall, and used him for as many as three innings at a time in scrimmages.
Yovan has thrown multiple innings in six of 11 appearances this season, and has multiple appearances in all five weeks of the season so far. So while it still should take some time to stretch him out as a starter, some groundwork has been laid.
"My guess would be, maybe we'll look to get about 70 pitches out of him this week," Horton said. "Hopefully that can get us somewhat deep into the game, but we know going into Saturday we're going to need more than one pitcher."
