Oregon baseball had three players named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. The three separated themselves from the rest of the nation’s class by having an immediate impact on a top 10 program.

Cole Irvin:

In many ways, Irvin was the best pitcher on the Oregon staff despite being a freshman. His 11 regular season wins tied a school record and his 116 innings pitched were by far the most on the team. Irvin threw four complete games, the final coming in an elimination game in regionals.

His 2.48 ERA is second on the club, but it wasn’t just stats that demanded attention to Irvin. His strong work ethic and humble attitude were referenced countless times by the coaching staff.

Garrett Cleavinger:

As the season went on, the Vulture, as Horton calls him, became as sure a thing as All-American Jimmie Sherfy. No longer was the goal to take a close game to the ninth and let Sherfy shut it down, all the Ducks had to do was bring a lead to the eighth.

Cleavinger finished the season with a 9-0 record and a 1.24 ERA. With Jimmie Sherfy being a junior, he will be at Oregon for one more year at best. Cleavinger is the guy coach George Horton is grooming to be the next closer.

Mitchell Tolman:

Tolman’s season was a funny one. He saw very little playing time during the season until he caught fire during a five game road trip in Washington. Over the course of the week, Tolman .474 with 14 RBI and was named Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Tolman has since cooled off and saw his batting average dip down to .315, but that red-hot week showed the potential for growth over the next few years. He and junior college transfer Tyler Baumgartner are likely the offensive future for the Ducks.