Freshman Steps In As Oregon State's Latest Lockdown Closer
April 16, 2008(UWIRE) CORVALLIS, Ore. — When you think of dominant pitchers, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is a starting pitcher, and for good reason. They throw more innings, get the most wins, more strikeouts, and so on. In a stat-oriented game, they fill up the board, plain and simple. But then comes the question: What good is a starting pitcher if there is nobody there to finish the job?
At Oregon State the Beavers have had an outstanding group of starters in recent years — Jonah Nickerson, Dallas Buck, Daniel Turpen, Mike Stutes and so on. And for each starting pitcher there has also been one constant, an outstanding closer to send these pitchers home with a win.
First there was Kevin Gunderson. The all-time leader in saves at Oregon State with 37 and one of the biggest athletic heroes in school history for his incredible performance during the 2006 run to the Beavers’ first national championship.
Last year there was Eddie Kunz. As the setup man for Gunderson in previous years, Kunz was a hard-throwing right-hander who pretty much sealed the deal whenever called upon. If the Beavers got to a point where Kunz was in the game, there was an excellent chance it would lead to a win.
As good as those two were, the best might be just getting warmed up. Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t heard the name Kevin Rhoderick before, you will soon hear it ad nauseam — although the only thing sickening or disgusting about him is the way he treats opposing batters.
The freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., has been untouchable so far this season. Headed into Tuesday’s game, in 11 appearances, "K-Rhod" has allowed a meager three hits and has 21 strikeouts and six saves in 16 innings pitched. His ERA is 0.56 and opponents are batting a putrid .063 against him. To put it simply, he is dominating like no other before him.
"Right now I wouldn’t want to get into the box against him," infielder Joey Wong said. "He’s throwing that fastball pretty hard, and his slider is devastating. He’s not a guy you want to face if you are the other team."
Rhoderick does indeed throw hard. His fastball is generally in the low to mid-90s and the aforementioned devastating slider regularly hits the high 80s — a tough task for any opposing batter to deal with and something that Rhoderick prides himself on.
"I’m definitely more of a power pitcher," Rhoderick said. "I try to get ahead of hitters and overpower people with my fastball — my slider, too. Basically I am always trying to throw it as hard as I can. That’s my game plan."
The Oregon State coaches have a game plan of their own and it involves using number 21 as often as possible.
"We’d like to get into more situations where we can use him," assistant coach David Wong said. "He’s been effective every time he’s been in."
Being effective is something that many fans take for granted. Often, being the closer can be a thankless job, but also one of the most important. There are only two things that can happen when a closer comes into the game: he can finish the job like most people expect, or he can be the goat who blew the game. A last-minute loss is costly for anyone and it can crush a team’s confidence in one swing of the bat. It is the closer’s job to make sure that does not happen.
"It’s really demoralizing if you have a lead in the late innings and you give it up," Rhoderick said. "The way I see it is if my team gets the lead, I never want to let them down. I’m just trying to go out there and do it for my team."
Here at Oregon State, it is all about team, and no other former player represented team play better than K-Rhod’s predecessor, Gunderson.
Rhoderick is well aware of the legacy he is carrying while being the new Oregon State closer. He has embraced the role, and with a little luck will one day be able to have the same opportunity to shine on the national scene like those who came before him.
"That’s one of the reasons I came out here," Rhoderick said. "It’s almost become a tradition to have good closers here, and I want to carry that on."
If and when that chance comes for the young right-hander to come up big in the clutch, Rhoderick already has the confidence from his teammates and coaches that he is going to come away with the big save. Despite only having 10 games of experience, his reputation as a clutch performer is growing quickly.
"He gets better when the game gets better," David Wong said. "If the game is close and on the line, he’s nails."
Rest easy, Beaver Nation. You have K-Rhod, and nobody else does.
