Head coach Sunny Golloway has been mixing in interchangeable parts for almost every aspect of the No. 17 baseball team’s lineup, but he has found one constant that seems to work every time, a one-two punch for the tail end of the bullpen.

The strategy for each game has been to have the starting pitcher last six or seven innings and then hand the ball over to pitchers senior Jeremy Erben and junior Ryan Duke to work the final innings and secure a victory.

So far this strategy has been fool proof. Erben has been virtually unhittable in his six outings, and Duke has recorded a save in each of his five appearances.

As the set-up reliever, Erben boasts a 4-0 record with a 0.57 ERA in 15 2/3 innings of work while striking out 16 batters. He has the five wins despite not making a start this season because Erben has been a part of close games that have come down to the battle of the bullpens.

Erben collected three of his victories over the course of this past week where he pitched five shutout innings.

If Erben’s were not impressive enough, he has not given up a run in his last six outings, which spans 11 2/3 innings. The last time Erben gave up a run was in his first appearance of the season.

Duke has continued to master the art of closing after becoming OU’s full-time closer at the start of last season. Golloway opted to keep Duke as the team’s closer despite losing multiple starting pitchers, a role Duke held during his freshman year.

The decision has paid off so far as Duke has recorded five saves in six innings of work while posting a 1.50 ERA. Duke’s 21 saves over the past two seasons has placed him at second in OU’s record books, needing seven more saves to tie former pitcher Jeff Bajenaru’s mark set between 1999 and 2000.

At the pace Duke is going, he should be able to tie and surpass Bajenaru’s career saves record within the next two months.

No matter what Golloway decides to do with his starting rotation, he has found gems in his set-up reliever and closer positions, and those two players’ consistency will be essential once Big 12 play starts on March 19.