The silent competitor
Steven Masters
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The sweat-brimmed hat covers his face, yet opponents can recognize him from afar. Whether it's his fastball, changeup, curveball, or cutter, the opposition can clearly identify the body that stands 60 feet, six inches away on top of the pitchers mound.
With his eyes tucked under, Jonah Nickerson goes about his business in a quiet, yet vocally aggressive style.
With his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame, Nickerson intimidates opposition hitters by mixing his pitches up, often setting hitters up with a four-seam fastball. This silent assassin has quietly backed up a strong sophomore season with an even better junior season.
While typically pitching on the final day of the season, Nickerson has anchored an Oregon State baseball team rotation that has repeat aspirations for the College World Series.
"You have Dallas who's an All-American, you have an All-American closer in Gunderson, and you have Nickerson who pitched on the National team and is an All-American in his own right," said OSU assistant coach Dan Spencer. "With him going on Sunday you really feel like your guy, at least on paper, is better than their guy."
"It doesn't matter to me whether I pitch the second or the third day," Nickerson said. "We mix it up a little this year. Whatever is working for us, it doesn't matter to me."
After going 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA last season, Nickerson has posted a 7-3 record this year with a 2.35 ERA, further proving the pitching rotation has no effect on him. His flexibility allows OSU head coach Pat Casey to either use Nickerson after Buck, or save him for the rubber match on the final day of a series. In his past five outings, Nickerson is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 35 strike outs, compared to only nine walks. He has also only allowed six earned runs in the 33 inning span.
OSU fans will most recently remember the two-hit, seven strike out performance Nickerson had on Easter Sunday against the Stanford Cardinal at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. Not only did he limit the Cardinal to four base runners, Nickerson retired the lead off hitter in every inning. While it appeared to be his best outing of the season, OSU players and coaches realized this is the same effort Nickerson brigs every time he pitches.
"As far as his best stuff, no, that was just the normal solid stuff," Spencer said. "There was a time or two last year where I felt he had a little more hop on those dominant days. One at the University of Washington where he took a shutout in the eighth, and he was pretty sharp in the World Series game against Tulane. As far as his best, he's had so many it's tough to qualify them."
"I probably didn't have to move my glove more than six inches," said catcher Mitch Canham of Nickerson's Easter Sunday performance against Stanford. "I was thinking about looking somewhere else and letting it hit the glove because Jonah works real hard in his bullpens and every pitch he has tremendous focus. I am so comfortable when he's on the mound. He doesn't have those extended innings where we are on defense forever; he goes out and gets the job done real quick so we can go on offense."
The calm expression Nickerson possesses on the mound keeps him balanced and focused on the task at hand. With Pac-10 play halfway over and the No. 6 Beavers a game and a half up on the USC Trojans, Nickerson will need to remain cool as more pressure packed situations a wait.
"That's what helps me get out of some jams," Nickerson said of his cool demeanor. "To stay relaxed at the game and be a silent competitor."
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