Oregon State advances to super regionals

Jun 7, 2017

BY THE NUMBERS

11 - For the eleventh-straight week Oregon State tops the national rankings in the USA Today poll, NCWBA poll, Collegiate Baseball poll, and the Baseball America poll.

15, 17 - For the fifteenth-straight USA Today poll and seventeenth-straight NCBWA poll Oregon State and Arizona are ranked. The two teams have been ranked since the preseason poll for both polls.

41 - Oregon State leads the nation in ERA (1.78) and has the lowest team ERA in the NCAA in the last 41 years with the last being UConn in 1976, 1.71 ERA.

2 of 5 - Two of five NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalists are Pac-12 student-athletes: Colton Hock a junior from Stanford and Kenyon Yovan a freshman from Oregon.

10 - Ten Pac-12 student-athletes appear on Collegiate Baseball’s 2017 Freshman All-American list: Kenyon Yovan, ORE; Jake Mulholland, OSU; Brandon Eisert, OSU; Lyle Lin, ASU; Andrew Vaughn, CAL; Gabe Matthews, ORE; Spencer Steer, ORE; Michael Toglia, UCLA; Kyle Cuellar, UCLA; Cameron Eden, CAL.

NOTES

WEEKLY RECAP: After the first week of the NCAA Tournament, No. 1 Oregon State is the final remaining Pac-12 baseball team. The Beavs advanced to the super regionals after defeating Holy Cross and Yale twice. Stanford won its first game against Sacramento State, lost to Cal State Fullerton, beat BYU, but eventually was eliminated by Cal State Fullerton. Arizona lost to Sam Houston State, beat Delaware, but was eliminated by Sam Houston State. UCLA lost to Texas and San Diego State, ending its season.

PREVIEWING THE WEEK: No. 1 Oregon State hosts Vanderbilt in a best of three series for the Corvallis super regional. The first game is Friday, June 9th at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2. The second game is Saturday, June 10th at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN. If a third game is necessary, that game is to be determined.

NUMBERS GAME: Arizona is 10th in dubles (133) and in doubles per game (2.25). No. 1 Oregon State is first in ERA (1.78), hits allowed per nine innings (6.31), shutouts (14), WHIP (.98), and WL percent(.929). OSU is also eighth in sacrifice flies (34), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.25), and sixth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.54). Washington is third in fielding percentage (.982). UCLA is 10th in sacrifice bunts (56). Oregon is second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.25).

INDIVIDUAL STATS LEADERS: UCLA’s Griffin Canning is ninth in complete games (4) and first in games started (17). Arizona’s JJ Matijevic is first in doubles (30) and doubles per game (0.51). Matijevic is also eighth in hits (8).Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich is first in ERA (0.76) and seventh in hits allowed per nine innings (5.32). UCLA’s Nick Scheidler and Scott Burke are fourth (36) and eighth (35), respectively, in pitching appearances. Stanford’s Colton Hock is first in saves (16) and Oregon’s Kenyon Yovan is sixth (15). Oregon’s David Peterson is fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.33) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.56). UCLA’s Canning and Oregon’s Peterson are tied for second in strikeouts (140). Oregon State’s Nick Madrigal is ninth in toughest to strikeout (16.6). Arizona State’s Gage Canning is second in triples (8) and fifth in triples per game (0.15). Oregon State’s Jake Thompson is first in victories (13). Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich is tied for third with Oregon’s Peterson in victories (11). OSU’s Heimlich is first in WHIP (0.78).

COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION FINALISTS: Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich is the final remaining Pac-12 student-athlete on the College Baseball Foundation Finalist list. The junior appears on the National Pitcher of the Year Finalist list and has helped the Beavs maintain a No. 1 ranking for the majority of the season.

Six Pac-12 baseball players appeared on the Brooks Wallace Award and National Pitcher of the Year semifinalist lists. Stanford’s Nico Hoerner and Oregon State’s Nick Madrigal appear on the Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist list. Arizona’s JC Cloney, Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich and Jake Thompson, and Oregon’s David Peterson appear on the National Pitcher of the Year semifinalist list.

STOPPER OF THE YEAR: Two of five finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award are Pac-12 student-athlete: Stanford’s Colton Hock and Oregon’s Kenyon Yovan.

The Pac-12 had four student-athletes from four different universities on the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, the second most among all conferences: Stanford’s Colton Hock, California’s Erik Martinez, Oregon State’s Jake Mulholland, and Oregon’s Kenyon Yovan. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association will be presenting the Stopper of the Year Award to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball for the 13th straight year in 2017.

ALL AMERICANS: Ten Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the Collegiate Baseball NCAA D1 All-American team. Nine Pac-12 freshman appear on the Collegiate Baseball 2017 Freshman All-American list.

The Pac-12 had eight different student-athletes from four different Pac-12 teams featured on Baseball America, NCBWA, and Collegiate Baseball preseason All-America teams.

GOLDEN SPIKES: The USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist List features five Pac-12 student-athletes, two from Oregon State, and one from UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon: Oregon State’s junior pitcher Luke Heimlich and sophomore infielder Nick Madrigal, UCLA’s junior pitcher Griffin Canning, Arizona’s junior infielder J.J. Matijevic, and Oregon’s junior pitcher David Peterson.

The USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List features 50 amateurs, seven of which are student-athletes from four different Pac-12 teams. With seven, the Pac-12 has the third-most representatives among all conferences. Stanford leads the way for most representatives by one team, with three Cardinal student-athletes featured, tying Florida and TCU. Now in its 39th year recognizing the top amateur baseball player in the country, seven former Pac-12 baseball players have won the award, most recently pitcher Trevor Bauer of UCLA in 2011.