Nate Yeskie Named Top Pitching Coach In '13

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State pitching coach Nate Yeskie has been named Collegiate Baseball’s Pitching Coach of the Year for the 2013 season, it was announced Monday. The honor is sponsored by Edge Charting Systems.

“I’m honored to be recognized for this type of honor,” Yeskie said. “This really, though, is something that should go to the pitchers on the staff last season. They’re the ones who worked hard to make themselves one of the best staffs in the country. Every one of them knew their roles, fought hard together and helped get the team to Omaha.”

Yeskie guided the Oregon State pitching staff to  a school-record 2.28 earned run average as the Beavers advanced to their fifth trip to the College World Series and finished the year ranked fourth nationally. The team won 52 games overall, and three pitchers – Matt Boyd, Andrew Moore and Ben Wetzler – all won 10 or more games.

The three were all named to the Pac-12 Conference’s First Team, while Moore and Boyd were named All-Americans. Moore tied the school’s single-season record with 14 victories and was the first true freshman in OSU history to be named a First Team All-American. He was also a consensus Freshman All-American and was named the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year.

Boyd won 11 games a year after spurning the Cincinnati Reds in the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft and was named a Third-Team All-American. He ended his Oregon State career – with all four years coming under Yeskie’s direction – with 22 wins. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by Toronto.

Wetzler, meanwhile, won his last 10 decisions in 2013 to finish 10-1. The left-hander will return to Oregon State for the 2014 season as a senior after turning down the Philadelphia Phillies and the club’s fifth-round selection over the summer. Wetzler will enter the season with 24 victories, six shy of tying the team’s career record.

Yeskie also saw Scott Schultz (17th round, Miami) and Dan Child (18th round, Philadelphia) selected in the draft. Schultz, like Wetzler, will return for his senior season in 2014.

Other notable pitchers for the Beavers in 2013 included freshman Max Engelbrekt, who ended the year with a 1.30 ERA in 27 2/3 innings, Tony Bryant, who had a 1.76 ERA in 30 2/3 innings, and Brandon Jackson, who went 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings.

OSU was 34-6 in 2013 when the team’s starting pitcher posted a quality start. The Beavers allowed 10 or more runs just three times, and limited opponents to five runs or less in 58 of the team’s 65 games played. Oregon State was 51-7 when that occurred.

Oregon State pitchers threw 12 shutouts in 2013, which tied for the nation’s lead.

Yeskie came to Oregon State prior to the 2009 season and has mentored four staffs that sport ERAs at less than 4.00. His first club, in 2009, had a 3.93 ERA a year after finishing at 5.29.

Yeskie has mentored four Freshman All-Americans during his tenure, with Sam Gaviglio (2009) and Jace Fry (2012) joining Boyd (2010) and Moore (2013). Boyd, Moore and Gaviglio have all earned All-American honors since 2009.

Oregon State pitchers have been selected 18 times in the MLB Draft during Yeskie’s tenure, with 10 coming in the first nine rounds. Gaviglio (2011), Wetzler (2013) and Tyler Waldron (2010) have all been selected in the fifth round, the highest such selections.

Yeskie will receive the award at the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Dallas on Jan. 4. He is the 11th recipient of the honor, dating back to 2003. A story on his honor will also be in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s Collegiate Preview, scheduled to be available on Jan. 3.

For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball.