The Oregon Ducks baseball team is off to a hot start with the hitters and pitchers both producing. A key piece of Oregon’s rotation has been junior Oregon native Ian Umlandt, who was a standout pitcher before he arrived in Eugene. In high school, he was ranked No. 120 in the country as a left-handed pitcher and No. 7 in the state by Perfect Game.

Umlandt began his college career in the bullpen where he recorded a 1-0 record with a 2.60 ERA in 17 appearances as a freshman. He pitched 17.1 innings where he recorded nine strikeouts, five walks, and allowed five earned runs on 21 hits.

Umlandt started his sophomore season in the bullpen, but moved into a midweek starting role a little over a month in. He finished the season 4-0 with four bullpen appearances and four starts while recording an ERA of 3.94. He pitched a total of 29.2 innings where he allowed 18 hits, 10 walks, and recorded 23 strikeouts.

Umlandt has spent the first part of this season bouncing between the bullpen and a starting spot in midweek games. His first two appearances were out of the bullpen where he pitched 9.1 innings between the games. In those games, he allowed one earned run off of eight hits and a walk, and recorded 10 strikeouts. In his first game against Toledo University, two of Umlandt’s six innings ended with strikeouts.

“I feel like I compete and pitch at my best when I’m just kind of free in letting the passion and competitiveness take over,” Umlandt said. “So, being able to let it out in those moments, especially knowing that the whole dugout’s behind me is a blast.”

Umlandt’s next two appearances were starts, and he combined for 10.2 innings pitched. In those starts, he allowed two earned runs off of 11 hits and three walks while recording eight strikeouts. While his role with the pitching staff might not be certain, the team can rest assured that whenever Umlandt is sent to the mound, he will produce several solid innings throughout the course of the season.