Apr 1, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn (56) celebrates with catcher Travis d'Arnaud (25) after the Angels defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in 11 innings at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Former Jayhawk Ryan Zeferjahn Records First Big League Save

Originally posted on Kansas Jayhawks on SI
By Jared Shlensky | Last updated Apr 2, 2025 3:17 AM ET

2025 has been good to former Kansas Jayhawk pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn .

Zeferjahn cracked the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career with the Los Angeles Angels in March, and on Tuesday he recorded his first big league save.

With one out and the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the 11th, Halos skipper Ron Washington turned to Zeferjahn for the final two outs of the game. The right-hander got Lars Nootbar to fly out to left before striking out Willson Contreras on a nasty sweeper down and away to secure the win.

Happy #OpeningDay to all who celebrate ⚾️

Good luck to KU Baseball alums Ryan Zeferjahn (@Angels) and Rob Thomson (@Phillies) along with the @Royals this season!#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/Tct6rgM67f
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 27, 2025

In three appearances this season, Zeferjahn has yet to allow a run and has struck out two over 1.1 innings of relief. Zeferhahn got his first taste of the big leagues last year and didn't disappoint. In 12 appearances with the Angels, Zeferjahn posted a 2.12 ERA and struck out 18 over 17 innings.

The former First Team All-Big 12 selection was drafted out of Kansas by the Boston Red Sox in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft and spent four seasons in their minor league system. Zeferjahn was then traded to the Angels right before last year's trade deadline and split time between the Big Leagues and Triple-A.

Ryan Zeferjahn slammed the door on a wild, back-and-forth game with some of the nastiest stuff you’ll see tonight pic.twitter.com/uCwETVqoNO
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) April 2, 2025