Patience and composure are two qualities essential for a good pitcher, especially when things aren’t going your way.
Those are two characteristics Nick Nygard has shown an abundance of while on the mound for Columbia River High School.
And those traits also served him well during his search for a college program.
The senior left-hander had received some inquiries from college coaches prior to this season, many of them from junior-college programs.
But Nygard was hoping for something more, both athletically and academically. And he got it last Monday when he accepted an offer to attend and pitch for the University of Portland.
“It was later than I wanted and expected,” Nygard said. “But I got my opportunity and I took it.”
Nygard also got an assist from his coach Steven Donohue.
Donohue had known University of Portland coach Geoff Loomis for years, dating back to when Donohue played at George Fox University and Loomis was an assistant coach with the Bruins.
“I called him earlier this year and told him we had a kid here that they would want to take a look at,” Donohue said. “So they did.”
The Pilots sent assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Jake Valentine, a Skyview High graduate, to watch Nygard pitch on March 20 against Union.
Nygard did not disappoint. He and fellow senior Koben Jamison combined on a no-hitter as River beat the Titans 1-0. Nygard threw five innings that day, striking out 11 and walking three on 86 pitches.
Last week, the offer came from the Pilots.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” Nygard said. “Great campus, great facilities, great academics. It was everything I wanted, so it was a no-brainer.”
This season for the Chieftains, Nygard has a 4-1 record with a 1.05 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 26 innings.
But that’s not all he brings to the program, Donohue said.
“He’s the kind of kid you dream of having on your program,” Donohue said. “He’s a great pitcher, a great student – he’s got a 3.7 GPA – and great leader. Often the hardest thing to do on a high school team is get the seniors to connect with the freshmen. On the first day of practice, often the younger kids will show up without everything they need. But this season, Nick showed up to the first practice with six Columbia River caps, and he was handing them out to the kids who didn’t have caps. That’s not something I told him to do. He just did it. It shows what kind of kid he is.”
Next fall, Nygard will be the new kid on a new team at the University of Portland.
“The opportunity to play in college, that’s what I wanted,” Nygard said. “That’s what I was striving for. Hard work paid off. I was able to put a lot of work in the offseason, a lot of work in here. … I’m excited.”
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at (360) 735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow him on Twitter @360TMart.
