For the second week in a row, Oregon ace Jace Stoffal has been named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Stoffal earned the recognition for his seven innings of one-hit ball last week against Oregon State. He said head coach Mark Wasikowski called him to congratulate him, and that it was a quick but efficient 15-second phone call.
“It’s really cool,” Stoffal said on Wednesday, before the Stanford series. “At the end of the day, it’s just another award. It was last week, so I’ve gotta go out there and try to do it again this week.”
That he certainly did. He went on to put up an even better performance, throwing a complete game shutout with just three hits allowed against No. 7 Stanford. He struck out eight and walked only one, lowering his ERA to 2.64. He’s now gone 21 straight innings without allowing an earned run, dating back to March 31 against Arizona.
Oregon has now had a Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times this year — Matt Dallas on March 20, then Stoffal on April 10 and April 17. No Duck earned the award at any point in the 2022 season.
Stoffal is the sixth Duck in the modern era of Oregon baseball to win it multiple times in a season; Robby Ahlstrom won it three times in 2021, Kenyon Yovan twice in 2018, David Peterson three times in 2017, Cole Irvin twice in 2013 and Alex Keudell twice in 2012. Altogether, Stoffal is one of 14 Oregon pitchers to earn this weekly honor.
Stoffal’s success has been especially valuable on a team that’s been searching for reliable starting pitching over the last couple seasons. He made his collegiate debut midway through last year, and got off to a shaky start before showing some signs of improvement near the end of the season. He worked in the weight room over the offseason to build up his velocity, and he’s come out this year and looked like an entirely different pitcher. He’s topped out at 94 miles per hour in games and improved his command drastically.
Stoffal will look to continue his scoreless streak this weekend in Berkeley against the Cal Bears.
