Veteran Arms Shoring Up Back End

Kolby Somers isn't the biggest member of the Oregon pitching staff, nor the loudest voice in the Ducks' dugout. Hunter Breault, meanwhile, has the sort of personality one would expect from a native of his home state, Hawaii.

At the back end of Oregon's bullpen, however, Somers and Breault have been making a bunch of noise through two weeks of the season. And first-year head coach Mark Wasikowski has liked what he's heard.

On Friday at 4 p.m., Oregon opens a four-game series against Milwaukee at PK Park. With a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, it's the kind of series that can stress a staff. But the way Somers and Breault have been throwing the ball, along with fellow reliever Nico Tellache, Wasikowski isn't feeling much stress right now.

"I don't plan on changing a whole heck of a lot with the pitching," Wasikowski said this week.

Through seven games over the first two weeks of the 2020 season, Somers and Breault have combined for 11 1/3 scoreless innings across seven appearances. Tellache, a senior, has allowed one run over four innings, and the trio has 13 strikeouts with six walks.

"We have a lot of confidence right now," said Somers, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning last week against Nevada and earned a win when the Ducks scored in the bottom of the inning. "We're just trying to keep working and getting better and giving that trust to our teammates that when the game is on the line, we're going to shut it down."

The Oregon Ducks take on the Nevada Wolfpack at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon on February 22, 2020 (Eric Evans Photography)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Nevada Wolfpack at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon on February 22, 2020 (Eric Evans Photography)

Oregon's confidence in Somers and Breault — and their confidence in themselves — is refreshing after each struggled through his sophomore season. Somers pitched 35 2/3 innings across 19 appearances in 2019, and had an ERA of 8.58. Breault allowed 12 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

But Breault lit up summer ball last year, and has been lightning up the radar gun with increased velocity this spring. In the opening week of the season against Pepperdine, Breault pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to help protect a lead that the Ducks later surrendered, and last week had pitched a scoreless inning on back-to-back days against Nevada.

"Fresh starts are always good, especially for a person in my position," Breault said.

As a fireballing right-hander, Breault is a contrast to his bullpen mate Somers, a crafty lefty. Somers was effective as a starter during his freshman season, bu struggled in a transition to the bullpen last spring. This season, it's been a different story.

"He has great mentality, and great consistency," Wasikowski said. "He wants the ball. And it looks like he's an imposing figure on the mound when he's out there right now. He's got that swagger and attitude to him, so we're just hoping that he can continue that."

People who know Somers away from the field might be asking: Swagger? Attitude? And Somers would understand.

"Off the field I'm usually pretty go-with-the-flow, a pretty shy guy, not super talkative," Somers acknowledged. "But on the field, I like to always have the mindset of just, attack — attack the hitters.

"Body language is big in baseball. Having a mindset of always attacking, going for the glove every single pitch, is big as a pitcher."

What Somers has been doing, it has worked, at least through two weeks of this season. They same can be said for Breault, and Tellache as well. There are questions still to be answered about this Oregon baseball team, but for now at least, the back of the bullpen isn't one of them.