Anytime the Shorewood High School baseball team faced adversity with its ace pitcher, Ian Oxnevad, on the mound this spring, teammates and coaches alike were not concerned.
“You almost felt like, it’ll be all right,” Thunderbirds head coach Wyatt Tonkin said, “we’ve got an ‘Ox.’”
Call him an ox, call him a horse, call him whatever animal you want, Oxnevad proved time and time again this season that he was one of the best high school pitchers in the state, and for that he’s been named The Herald’s 2015 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Oxnevad said. “It’s humbling, too, and it’s an honor. … To be chosen, it’s pretty exciting, for sure.”
“Overwhelming” is a word Oxnevad uses quite a bit when talking about his senior season with the Thunderbirds, which is ironic because he never looked overwhelmed with the ball in his hands. He pitched in some of Shorewood’s most stressful situations and never wavered, helping lead his team to a second-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament.
Against Lake Washington in the first round of the state playoffs, Oxnevad pitched 11 scoreless innings in a 12-inning, 1-0 victory. The following weekend, Oxnevad pitched a complete game in an eight-inning 1-0 win over Central Kitsap in the state semifinals. He picked up the victory in each contest.
“He’s a horse,” Tonkin said, “and when you’ve got a horse like that, he’s a triple crown.”
Oxnevad has come a long way since his freshman year, when he was throwing 81 to 83 miles per hour. As a senior he was consistently between 88 and 90 and topped out at 92.
“From his sophomore to his junior year there was a big maturity in his pitching ability,” Tonkin said. “Physically the maturity was there and you knew that he was going to get stronger. You could tell when he was 16 years old that he was going to throw 90 by the time he was a senior.”
Even though Tonkin was confident Oxnevad would someday reach 90 mph, it was still a milestone for the 6-foot-4, 200-pound lefty.
“Once I finally got that confirmation that I could hit 90, it was a relief and it was a monkey off my back,” Oxnevad said.
Even more than the development of his physical skills, Tonkin was impressed with the mental part of Oxnevad’s game. Tonkin consistently worked with Oxnevad on not worrying about the things he couldn’t control and it paid off during his junior and senior seasons.
“This year, there was nothing that ever fazed him,” Tonkin said. “When he figured out the outside things he can’t control and stayed in the now and pitched in the future, that’s where his control sharpened, his command sharpened, the respect he got from his teammates increased and the respect that he got as a player in the league increased.”
Oxnevad’s battery mate, junior catcher Nick Edney, expressed nothing but admiration for the senior pitcher.
“Ian is really incredible,” Edney said. “Every time he took the mound I knew he was going to put on a show. He has so much confidence every time he goes out. It’s incredible to catch every game.”
Oxnevad was 11-0 this season, with a 0.35 earned-run average. He pitched 79? innings, allowing just 39 hits and striking out 96 batters, but he was most proud of his control.
“As a freshman, I had a ton of walks and then this year I had (15), which is something that I was really proud of,” he said. “That’s something that I’ve been working on and Wyatt has been helping me with my mechanics and stuff.”
Oxnevad’s successes are made all the more impressive by the fact he did it in front of 10 to 20 major-league scouts at every game.
“Those guys are judging you every single pitch, so you’ve got to focus in a lot more,” he said. “It’s definitely overwhelming and definitely humbling just to know that those guys are interested in you. As the games went on, I kind of got more used to it. I was like, ‘It’s just another game. Those guys are going to be there. I’ve just got to do my thing.’”
Oxnevad is committed to play baseball at Oregon State University, but has been told he could be selected in the top 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball entry draft, which runs Monday through Wednesday in Secaucas, New Jersey.
Depending on where Oxnevad is picked, he will decide if he will attend OSU or sign a pro contract.
“I want baseball to be fair to me,” he said. “Obviously I want to be a big-league pitcher someday, whether that’s through college or whether that’s this year. Who knows? I guess it all depends on the money amount that is brought up, or the rounds. It’s overwhelming for sure, this whole draft process. I’m looking forward to it, though. It’s an exciting time.”
Whatever decision he makes, Oxnevad said he knows he has two good options.
“You can’t go wrong either way,” he said. “(Oregon State) coach (Pat) Casey and all those guys down there, they’re consistent every single year — a Top 20 to 25 team every single year. Playing for them would be a privilege for sure.”
The first two rounds of the draft are Monday, rounds three through 10 are Tuesday and the remaining 30 rounds are Wednesday.
When asked what he thought it would feel like to be picked, Oxnevad used a familiar word. “It’s going to be overwhelming,” he said.
Then Oxnevad turned to Tonkin, who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1976, and asked, “What was it like for you?”
It won’t be long before Oxnevad finds out for himself.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
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