Ohio senior right-hander Jake Rudnicki is pitching fewer innings this season than in past years.
But it’s not a demotion. In fact, the starter-turned-reliever sees his new role as quite the opposite.
“You’re thrown in high-leverage situations,” Rudnicki said. “You throw pretty much when the game is on the line.”
After logging more than 210 innings the past three seasons, including a team-high 75 2/3 last year, Rudnicki has been plucked from the starting rotation and is now part of Ohio’s greatest strength — the back end of its bullpen.
He isn’t the closer — that’s redshirt junior Jake Roehn — but he often pitches at least some or all of the eighth, an inning he’s appeared in six of his seven outings so far.
In late inning situations, the pressure is typically on to preserve a lead or at least keep a game close. Yet Rudnicki said he feels less pressure than he did as a starter when he was expected to throw at least four or five innings per game.
The biggest difference fro Rudnicki between starting and relieving is the preparation. As a starter, he knew well in advance which day of the week he’d be pitching, so he had time to prepare mentally and physically for that.
As a reliever, however, he’s usually called upon more than once a week. He throws long toss in warm-ups and, if his name is called mid-game, he pops up and sometimes has only an inning’s worth of time to get ready.
Success has followed Rudnicki to the bullpen, where he has a 1.17 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings.
Ohio coach Rob Smith attributed Rudnicki’s strong start to the shrinkage of his responsibility game to game, where now he doesn’t have to worry about pitch counts or energy conservation.
“You’re just out there and you’re just letting it rip,” Smith said. “That’s the mentality of most late-inning guys and I’ve seen it several times where it just frees guys up and helps them. He’s certainly a guy I think benefits from it.”
Rudnicki is a self-proclaimed “heavy fastball guy” while mixing in sliders and changeups. Logically, fewer innings per appearance help him maintain the zip on his best pitch.
His newfound role this season could help him out down the road, too. Rudnicki said he expects to take a shot at playing in the pros as a reliever.
But that’s not the goal for right now. He’s still focused on his final season at Ohio, which, if it keeps up this way, should earn him the chance he’s looking for.
“The goal is to throw up a zero every time you get out there,” Rudnicki said. “And I think that if you succeed here and you help your team win, they’ll pick up on that and one thing will lead to another.”
