Oregon State Takes 4 Of 5 Pac-12 Awards
June 01, 2017 | Baseball
OSU is the first team with four major awards since ASU in 2008
SAN FRANCISCO – The Oregon State baseball team set a Pac-12 record with 27 victories and enters postseason play Friday with a 49-4 record.
On Thursday, the conference's coaches recognized the team's record-breaking season. Nick Madrigal was named both the Pac-12's Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Heimlich was selected as Pitcher of the Year and Pat Casey was honored as the Coach of the Year.
Additionally, six Beavers were named First Team, the most since the 2013 club placed seven. Madrigal, Heimlich, Jack Anderson, Cadyn Grenier, KJ Harrison and Jake Thompson were recognized. Six other Beavers – Brandon Eisert, Michael Gretler, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Jake Mulholland and Adley Rutschman were recognized as Honorable Mention.
Lastly, Kwan and Madrigal were both named to the Pac-12's All-Defensive Team.
It is the first time since Arizona State in 2008 that a team has won four of the five Pac-12 postseason awards.
Madrigal takes home the dual honors after batting .377 with 18 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 31 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases during the regular season. Defensively, he played both shortstop and second base for Oregon State, committing just four errors. He has a .981 fielding percentage. Madrigal is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and on Thursday morning, was named a Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Heimlich, who was named a First-Team All-American Thursday morning, leads the nation with a 0.81 earned run average. He is 10-1 and his 120 strikeouts in 111 innings are 11 shy of tying Jonah Nickerson's single-season school record of 131 in 2006. Heimlich is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and is one of five finalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame's National Pitcher of the Year award.
Casey is now a five-time winner of the conference's Coach of the Year – including 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. Now in his 23rd-year at the helm of the program, he guided the Beavers to a conference-record 27 wins during league play. OSU won all 10 of its conference series, sweeping seven, and won the Pac-12 by six games, the largest winning margin in more than 30 years. Oregon State enters play with 49 wins, which is a program regular-season record.
Harrison, a first baseman, is now a three-time Pac-12 First-Team selection, joining Joe Gerber (1998-2000) and Michael Conforto (2012-14) as OSU players to accomplish that feat over the last two decades. He ended the regular season batting .317 with 12 doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI.
Anderson, Grenier and Thompson are all First Team selections for the first time in their careers.
Anderson, an outfielder, comes into the postseason with a .312 batting average, adding five doubles, one triple and 27 RBI. He has walked 24 times compared to 20 strikeouts and has a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Grenier has split time at short and second as well, batting .273 with four doubles, a team-high five triples, five home runs – tying Harrison for the team lead – and five stolen bases.
Thompson leads the nation with 12 wins, and his 1.31 ERA ranks in the top 10 nationally. The right-hander held opponents to a .186 batting average and struck out 96 in 103 innings during the regular season. Earlier, on Thursday morning, he was named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
All six of the Beavers' Honorable Mention selections are being recognized for the first time. Offensively, Gretler tallied a .304 batting average during the regular season, adding 10 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 27 RBI. Larnach batted .294 with 14 doubles, three home runs and a team-leading 36 RBI. Kwan batted .307 and finished the regular season with five doubles, one triple, one home run – a grand slam against California – and 13 RBI. He was also 6-for-7 in stolen-base attempts. Rutschman batted .240 with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 29 RBI. He was also charged with just two passed balls in 52 games this season.
Eisert and Mulholland, a pair of left-handed freshman, helped guide the Oregon State bullpen this season. Eisert went 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA and four saves in 41 2/3 innings. He struck out 45, averaging 9.71 strikeouts per nine innings. Mulholland, meanwhile, led OSU with six saves and was 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 45 1/3 innings. He also led the Beavers with 24 appearances.
Kwan and Madrigal's selections to the All-Defensive Team, meanwhile, ties Oregon State with Stanford for the most selections. Kwan had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the regular season.
Nine of the 12 Beavers honored Thursday were also Pac-12 All-Academic selections earlier this week. The three who weren't – Eisert, Mulholland and Rutschman – were not eligible due to being first-year student-athletes. Thompson (economics) and Anderson (kinesiology) were First-Team selections. Grenier (psychology) and Gretler (finance) were Second-Teamers. Harrison (business), Heimlich (speech communication), Kwan (business), Larnach (business), Madrigal (sociology) were all named Honorable Mention.
Follow Us On Social
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
OREGON STATE ATHLETICS' EVERYDAY CHAMPIONS CULTURE
Through the power of sport, we help people discover and pursue their passions, talents and purpose in order to live a life of balance and positive contribution.
On Thursday, the conference's coaches recognized the team's record-breaking season. Nick Madrigal was named both the Pac-12's Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Heimlich was selected as Pitcher of the Year and Pat Casey was honored as the Coach of the Year.
Additionally, six Beavers were named First Team, the most since the 2013 club placed seven. Madrigal, Heimlich, Jack Anderson, Cadyn Grenier, KJ Harrison and Jake Thompson were recognized. Six other Beavers – Brandon Eisert, Michael Gretler, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Jake Mulholland and Adley Rutschman were recognized as Honorable Mention.
Lastly, Kwan and Madrigal were both named to the Pac-12's All-Defensive Team.
It is the first time since Arizona State in 2008 that a team has won four of the five Pac-12 postseason awards.
Madrigal takes home the dual honors after batting .377 with 18 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 31 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases during the regular season. Defensively, he played both shortstop and second base for Oregon State, committing just four errors. He has a .981 fielding percentage. Madrigal is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and on Thursday morning, was named a Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Heimlich, who was named a First-Team All-American Thursday morning, leads the nation with a 0.81 earned run average. He is 10-1 and his 120 strikeouts in 111 innings are 11 shy of tying Jonah Nickerson's single-season school record of 131 in 2006. Heimlich is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and is one of five finalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame's National Pitcher of the Year award.
Casey is now a five-time winner of the conference's Coach of the Year – including 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. Now in his 23rd-year at the helm of the program, he guided the Beavers to a conference-record 27 wins during league play. OSU won all 10 of its conference series, sweeping seven, and won the Pac-12 by six games, the largest winning margin in more than 30 years. Oregon State enters play with 49 wins, which is a program regular-season record.
Harrison, a first baseman, is now a three-time Pac-12 First-Team selection, joining Joe Gerber (1998-2000) and Michael Conforto (2012-14) as OSU players to accomplish that feat over the last two decades. He ended the regular season batting .317 with 12 doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI.
Anderson, Grenier and Thompson are all First Team selections for the first time in their careers.
Anderson, an outfielder, comes into the postseason with a .312 batting average, adding five doubles, one triple and 27 RBI. He has walked 24 times compared to 20 strikeouts and has a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Grenier has split time at short and second as well, batting .273 with four doubles, a team-high five triples, five home runs – tying Harrison for the team lead – and five stolen bases.
Thompson leads the nation with 12 wins, and his 1.31 ERA ranks in the top 10 nationally. The right-hander held opponents to a .186 batting average and struck out 96 in 103 innings during the regular season. Earlier, on Thursday morning, he was named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
All six of the Beavers' Honorable Mention selections are being recognized for the first time. Offensively, Gretler tallied a .304 batting average during the regular season, adding 10 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 27 RBI. Larnach batted .294 with 14 doubles, three home runs and a team-leading 36 RBI. Kwan batted .307 and finished the regular season with five doubles, one triple, one home run – a grand slam against California – and 13 RBI. He was also 6-for-7 in stolen-base attempts. Rutschman batted .240 with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 29 RBI. He was also charged with just two passed balls in 52 games this season.
Eisert and Mulholland, a pair of left-handed freshman, helped guide the Oregon State bullpen this season. Eisert went 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA and four saves in 41 2/3 innings. He struck out 45, averaging 9.71 strikeouts per nine innings. Mulholland, meanwhile, led OSU with six saves and was 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 45 1/3 innings. He also led the Beavers with 24 appearances.
Kwan and Madrigal's selections to the All-Defensive Team, meanwhile, ties Oregon State with Stanford for the most selections. Kwan had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the regular season.
Nine of the 12 Beavers honored Thursday were also Pac-12 All-Academic selections earlier this week. The three who weren't – Eisert, Mulholland and Rutschman – were not eligible due to being first-year student-athletes. Thompson (economics) and Anderson (kinesiology) were First-Team selections. Grenier (psychology) and Gretler (finance) were Second-Teamers. Harrison (business), Heimlich (speech communication), Kwan (business), Larnach (business), Madrigal (sociology) were all named Honorable Mention.
Follow Us On Social
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverBaseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
OREGON STATE ATHLETICS' EVERYDAY CHAMPIONS CULTURE
Through the power of sport, we help people discover and pursue their passions, talents and purpose in order to live a life of balance and positive contribution.
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