Oregon’s David Peterson Strikes Out 20

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EUGENE, Ore.—After getting roughed up a week earlier against Stanford, while his team was in the midst of a five-game losing streak that has greatly reduced its postseason odds, Oregon’s David Peterson wanted to get his team and himself back on the right track.

Boy, did he ever.

The junior lefthander racked up 20 strikeouts en route to a 2-0 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday at PK Park.

“Earlier today I felt like myself again. I was sick last week doing whatever I did last week,” Peterson said. “I felt today, when I got my lift in and I got my rest in earlier, I just felt like me again. I was pretty anxious in the bullpen; I had to slow myself down.”

Peterson was dominant from open to close on Friday night. He pitched off of a low-90s fastball that peaked at 94 mph in the first inning and showed wicked movement away from righthanded batters, and complemented the pitch with a pair of breaking balls. Early on, he used his low-80s slider as his offspeed weapon before mixing in a nose-to-toes curveball in the latter part of his outing.

Perhaps more incredibly, Peterson didn’t throw a single changeup during the course of his 123-pitch gem.

“His fastball moves all over the place and he had both breaking balls working,” Oregon head coach George Horton said. “I think he didn’t throw any changeups, so he kind of put a fourth pitch in the pocket and never used it. That just says how good the three pitches were. He was in the zone when he wanted to be and out of the zone when he wanted to be.

“That’s what it looks like when Kershaw or Bumgarner—when he’s not hurt—that’s what it looks like. That’s big league stuff.”

His 20 strikeouts matched Oregon’s program record for a single game and set its record for a single pitcher. J.P. Sears of The Citadel also struck out 20 hitters this season, in March against Virginia Military Institute.

Peterson’s evening stands out in Horton’s eyes as the best he’s seen in his 26-year career.

“I’ve been a part of a couple of no-hitters in my time—actually, one of the pitchers won 29-0 in a no-hitter,” Horton said. “But I’ve never seen a more special performance than that. That was unbelievable.”

Over the course of his three years at Oregon, Peterson has worked with three pitching coaches—Dean Stiles in his freshman year, Mitch Karraker last season and Jason Dietrich this year. Beyond that trio, Peterson also had the privilege of learning from former Long Beach State pitching coach Dave Snow last summer while both were part of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.

More than just the coaches, Peterson also got to hang out and learn from other top-tier college arms such as Alex Faedo (Florida), Tanner Houck (Missouri), Alex Lange (Louisiana State), J.B. Bukauskas (North Carolina) and Ricky Tyler Thomas (Fresno State), who outdueled Peterson in the opening game of the season.

“I think it’s been an accumulation of a lot of knowledge and maturity,” Horton said. “But he’s always been a  mature human being. Now he’s a mature pitcher.”

With two outs in the ninth, the tying run at the plate and Oregon’s standout closer Kenyon Yovan ready in the bullpen, Dietrich visited the mound for one last check to make sure Peterson had enough to finish off Oregon’s first win in a week.

Peterson answered yes, and backed up his words by blowing a 92 mph fastball past Arizona State’s Zach Cerbo to end one of the finest performances this season.