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An Oral Roberts baseball player is taking the world by storm this weekend in NCAA Regional play. The large lefty has been stellar on the mound for the Golden Eagles, and he’s reminding viewers of another lanky left-handed flamethrower.
Jacob Widener is a redshirt sophomore from California. The reliever stands 6-foot-7 and tips the scales at 235 pounds. In short, he’s a daunting presence when he toes the rubber.
On the year, he’s pitched 45 innings, going 2-2 while recording one save. His 3.00 ERA and incredible 74 strikeouts show how difficult it is to face him on the mound.
But while he’s been a key piece out of the bullpen for the Golden Eagles all year, many around the college baseball world don’t know about him.
That is, until now.
Oral Roberts has run through the Stillwater regional this postseason, stunning the field as a four-seed. The Eagles upset top seeded host Oklahoma State in the opener and never looked back.
Widener made his impact in the finale as he helped his team book a ticket to the super regionals.
In that appearance versus Dallas Baptist, the lefty faced just two batters, striking out both on 10 pitches. He entered the contest in the eighth inning of a one-run game and closed the door on any DBU comeback chances.
Oral Roberts would win the game, 6-5.
Clips of his performance are now going viral with many baseball fans comparing him to Randy Johnson. It’s not hard to see why.
Yo nobody told me Randy MF Johnson pitched for Oral Roberts pic.twitter.com/VDo5LONFbH
— Ben Upton (@Ben_Upton5) June 5, 2023
He’s even got the mustache, to boot.
One fan wrote, “That’s Randy Johnson,” while another commented, “I thought the same thing!”
This follower referenced a famous RJ moment by saying, “Birds beware.”
Jacob Widener and the Golden Eagles will now move onto the super regionals where they’ll face Oregon.