Oregon ace Jace Stoffal did not pitch last weekend in the Ducks’ series loss to USC, leaving fans and journalists alike scratching their heads. Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said on Wednesday that Stoffal is dealing with a non-arm-related injury, and that they didn’t feel comfortable giving him a start.
His status this weekend at home against Washington is to be determined.
“When he’s ready to go, he’s gonna be out there,” Wasikowski said. “When he’s not ready to go and it’s not responsible for him to be out there, we’re not gonna pitch him.”
Wasikowski declined to specify what the exact injury is, but he was clear that his arm is fine. Stoffal traveled with the team and even came close to starting on Sunday — hence why the lineup was released later than usual. Stoffal threw a bullpen before Sunday’s game, Wasikowski said. The coaching staff felt it would be unwise to let him go in the game, though, so they went with Matthew Grabmann instead.
“We brought him to be able to help bring him back, to try to get him back into the mix,” Wasikowski said. “He’s so valuable. So it’s a day-to-day thing with him.”
Wasikowsk said Stoffal also threw a bullpen on Tuesday.
“His arm’s fine,” he said. “It’s just a different kind of a deal. I don’t want to get into it.”
With Turner Spoljaric and Jackson Pace having high pitch counts from the midweek games, Oregon opted to go with Leo Uelmen on Friday and lost 7-2. The Ducks lost two out of three to the Trojans, only squeezing out the Saturday game with Logan Mercado on the mound.
Stoffal has a 2.83 ERA in 57 1/3 innings this year. Before last weekend, he had won Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in three of the previous four weeks, becoming just the third Oregon pitcher to ever win it three times in a season.
Another injured Oregon right-hander, Isaac Ayon, is also on the horizon of returning. Ayon has been out all year and has slowly progressed as the season has gone on. With only two series left in the regular season, Wasikowski said he still believes Ayon should be back. He described this weekend as a “TBA” but was more confident that he would be back for Oregon’s final series against Utah.
“He’s got — I believe it’s another bullpen either today or tomorrow,” Wasikowski said. “Every test that he’s had, he’s passed with flying colors, which has been great…. He’s passionate. He wants back out there more than anybody.”
When Ayon does return, he would still need to build his innings back up, meaning he might not return in a starting role. He was Oregon’s most valuable starting pitcher last year, before Stoffal broke out.
At this point, Wasikowski said he’s just following the medical staff’s lead. Whenever the coaching staff gets the “okay” to put these guys back on the mound, they’ll do it.
Wasikowski said he has a meeting later on Wednesday to discuss who this weekend’s starters will be in Oregon’s last home series of the year.
“I’ll check with Coach [Jake] Angier and see what he wants to do,” Wasikowski said. “Some of that’s gonna be pending on Jace though, and we’ll get more information on him as the week goes. And so far it’s been trending in the right direction and there’s been improvement, which is great.”
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.
