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Oregon's Turner Spoljaric named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•05/22/23•

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Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Over the weekend, the Oregon baseball program badly needed a strong showing from its starting pitchers.

Freshman Turner Spoljaric gave the Ducks exactly that. As a result, he has been named the Pac-12 pitcher of the Week.

Spoljaric, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Lisle, Ontario, tossed 7.0 innings and allowed just one run on five hits during Oregon’s 9-1 win over Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday. During the outing, he was incredibly efficient and threw just 90 pitches while stranding 10 Utes’ runners.

Spoljaric becomes the third Oregon pitcher this season to earn Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors, joining Jace Stoffal, who has won the award three times in 2023, and Matt Dallas.

In 13 appearances this season, including four starts, Spoljaric boasts a 5.63 ERA and 25 strikeouts over the course of 40 innings.

After a couple of strong relief outings in the month of May, he was inserted into the Ducks’ weekend rotation in place of fellow freshman Jackson Pace.

Stoffal, Oregon’s top starting pitcher this spring, has been sidelined for the past three weeks with an injury.

The Ducks have struggled mightily without him and are just 3-7 in the month of May.

With Stoffal sidelined, Logan Mercado, Spoljaric, and Matthew Grabmann figure to be Oregon’s three primary starting pitchers at the moment.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski that Stoffal — as well as right-handed starter Isaac Ayon — will return to the mound at some point this season.

“All I’m told is he keeps progressing. He will be traveling with us on the road trip,” Wasikowski said of Stoffal last week. “He traveled with us to USC. He was on that road trip as well. We’re going to make a decision on when he’s active and what’s going on when we get more information. He’s progressing. I’m a little bit skittish about the fact that he’ll be ready for this weekend. I would bet that he’s not, but I know he’s feeling as though the Pac-12 tournament would clearly be a place where he’s feeling more comfortable with. Ultimately, it’s a feel thing for him.”

Oregon (32-20, 16-14 Pac-12) arrived in Scottsdale, Ariz., this afternoon for the Pac-12 tournament.

The No. 6-seeded Ducks will open tournament play against Cal at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Oregon has not yet announced a starting pitcher for its matchup with the Golden Bears.

Previous Oregon Ducks to be named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week

Jace Stoffal (5/1/23; 4/17/23; 4/10/23)
Matt Dallas (3/20/23)
Robert Ahlstrom (5/10/21; 4/13/21; 3/15/21)
Cullen Kafka (3/23/21)
Kenyon Yovan (4/30/18; 4/2/18)
Parker Kelly (3/12/18)
David Peterson (5/1/17; 4/3/17; 2/14/17)
Conor Harber (2/23/15)
Tommy Thorpe (3/24/14)
Cole Irvin (3/13/13; 4/1/13)
Alex Keudell (4/16/12; 4/9/12)
Jimmie Sherfy (2/21/12)
Madison Boer (2/22/11)
Justin LaTempa (5/3/10)

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