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Dejai Oliver had an impressive freshman season as a starting pitcher finishing the season with a 5-5 record. He was by far the team leader in strike outs with 67. Oliver proved he has stamina, when he tossed a complete game shutout with 9 K’s in March. Oliver can pitch in relief too and is from Orlando, FL.
Former Pine Castle Christian pitcher Dejai Oliver had signed with UCF after shining at Seminole State College. (Sentinel file)
Dejai Oliver, a former Pine Castle Christian and Seminole State College right-hander who had signed to pitch with UCF, has signed with the Florida Marlins. Oliver (6-2/195) was an eighth-round pick in the June amateur draft.
“It was hard to turn down UCF, but the whole situation was right,” Oliver said from Jupiter, where he was undergoing medical tests. “School is fun and all, but getting to play the game you love is better.”
Oliver went 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA for Seminole State College last season. He struck out 85 and walked 27 in 73 innings. He expects to make one or two appearances for the Marlins’ Gulf Coast League affiliate before being assigned to Jamestown of the New York-Penn League.
Oliver is the son of former major-league catcher Joe Oliver, now the baseball coach at Bishop Moore. Oliver coached his son in high school at Pine Castle.
Asked what advice his father gave him, Oliver said: “He told me some things, but he wanted me to find out things the hard way. He told me it is going to be a journey, and the best way to go about it will be to experience it.
“This is going to be a big step, knowing I’m not going to be in my backyard anymore.”
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