Two Pac-12 Baseball Teams Set To Compete In College World Series

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SAN FRANCISCO – Pac-12 baseball sends two teams to the NCAA College World Series as both OREGON STATE and WASHINGTON advanced to Omaha for a shot at the national title. It marks the 32nd time the Pac-12 has sent multiple teams to the College World Series, including the first time since 2013. That year, UCLA went on to win the league's most recent national title after finishing in third place in Pac-12 play. Washington (35-24, 20-10) finished third in the Pac-12 this season, while Oregon State (49-10-1, 20-9-1 Pac-12) finished second a game and a half behind regular season champion STANFORD (46-12, 22-8).

PAC-12'S STORIED CWS HISTORY: An NCAA-best seven different Pac-12 members have won a College World Series title, with the Huskies seeking to become the eighth. Conference members have combined to win a national-best 28 CWS crowns all-time, more than double the next closest league (SEC - 12).

The trips to Omaha for OSU and UW are the 100th and 101st all-time CWS appearances for current Pac-12 members and mark the 66th time in the 72-year history of the event that at least one Conference program has reached the CWS.

At least one league program has advanced to the National Championship Series in 38-of-71 seasons, including six all-Pac-12 matchups (1963, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1988, 1998). League members have totaled 16 runner-up finishes along with the 28 CWS crowns, including a national champion or runner-up in eight of the last 15 seasons.

All 11 league programs have now reached the College World Series with the addition of UW punching its ticket for the first time in school history. The Pac-12 joins the SEC as the only leagues to have all their baseball programs reach the CWS.

Oregon State is one of just six schools nationally to win consecutive CWS titles, and one of three from the Pac-12. USC won five straight titles from 1970-74, Stanford went back-to-back from 1987-88, and the Beavers followed suit from 2006-07.

NCAA CWS Titles by Conference Members
USC - 12
Arizona State - 5
Arizona - 4
California - 2
Oregon State - 2
Stanford - 2
UCLA - 1

OSU NEARING HISTORIC WIN TOTAL: With one win in the CWS, Oregon State can reach the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in school history and become only the fourth program in Conference history to post back-to-back 50-win campaigns. Arizona State accomplished the feat twice (1981-82, 2009-10), while Stanford reached 50+ wins in a record three consecutive years from 1999-2001.

50-Win Teams in Conference History
Arizona State - 8 (1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 2003, 2009, 2010)
Stanford - 6 (1987, 1990, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003)
Oregon State - 3 (2006, 2013, 2017)
UCLA - 1 (2010)
Washington State - 1 (1988)

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES PREVIEW: Oregon State will play North Carolina in the opening game of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha on Saturday, June 16 at 12 p.m. PT. The Beavers own a 4-1 record all-time against the Tar Heals after meeting in the 2006 and 2007 CWS Championship Series when OSU won back-to-back National titles. Both teams are undefeated in the postseason thus far with 5-0 records heading into this weekend.

Washington opens the College World Series against Mississippi State at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 16. All games will be broadcast on ESPN. The Huskies and Beavers will compete on Monday, June 18, as the 72nd CWS will continue through June 26/27.

WEEKLY RECAP: The Beavers make their 7th College World Series appearance (1952, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2018) in program history and hold a 15-10 (.600) NCAA CWS record with all 15 wins coming under head coach Pat Casey. OSU swept the Corvallis Regional defeating North Western State, 9-3, LSU, 14-1 and 12-0, and then topped Minnesota, 8-1 and 6-3, in the Super Regional. Saturday’s win improved Oregon State’s home NCAA Regional record to 20-2 at Goss Stadium since 2005. Luke Heimlich is one-of-six pitchers to earn Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors twice (2017, 2018) and enters the College World Series with the nation-best 16 wins this season.

Two-Time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year
Luke Heimlich, Oregon State (2017, 18)
David Berg, UCLA (2013, 15)
Mike Leake, Arizona State (2008, 09)
Tim Lincecum, Washington (2004, 06)
Seth Etherton, USC (1996, 98)
Kyle Peterson, Stanford (1995, 97)

UW advanced to the programs first-ever Super Regional with wins over Connecticut, 7-1 and 9-6, and Coastal Carolina, 11-6, in the Conway Regional. Washington faced Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regional and started with a strong 8-5 victory in Game 1 before dropping Game 2, 5-2. The squad kept their postseason journey alive, defeating Cal State Fullerton in a tremendous 6-5, 10th-inning comeback victory in Game 3 to advance to its first CWS. Freshman Kaiser Weiss was the hero of the game, scoring the tying run in the ninth inning and sending in the winning run with a bases-loaded hit.

NCBWA 2018 Freshman All-Americans

First Team
Spencer Torkelson*, ASU – 1B
Brendan Beck, STAN – SP

Second Team
Zach Pettway, UCLA – SP
Jacob Palisch, STAN – RP
* NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year

NCBWA 2018 All-Americans
First Team
Andrew Vaughn, CAL – 1B
Trevor Larnach, OSU – OF
Luke Heimlich, OSU – RHP
Jack Little, STAN  – RP

Second Team
Nick Madrigal, OSU – 2B

Third Team
Adley Rutschman, OSU  – C
Spencer Torkelson, ASU  – 1B
Chase Strumpf, UCLA – 2B
Kris Bubic, STAN  – SP
Jake Mulholland, OSU  – RP

COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION FINALISTS: Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich appears on the National Pitcher of the Year Finalist list for the second straight season after collecting the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year nod. Two Pac-12 baseball players have been named Brooks Wallace Award Finalists, OSU’s Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Cadyn Greiner and Stanford’s Pac-12 First Team member Nico Hoerner. California’s Tanner Dodson is 1-of-3 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Finalists.

GOLDEN SPIKES: California’s Vaughn has been named a finalist for the 2018 Golden Spikes Award. The sophomore ended his season with a .402 batting average, 23 home runs, 63 RBI and a .531 on-base percentage. Additionally, his .819 slugging percentage was the best single-season mark in Golden Bears’ history.

The Pac-12 tied for the most USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists of any Conference with four student-athletes selected, two from Oregon State and one from Arizona State and California: OSU’s Trevor Larnach, Nick Madrigal, Arizona State’s Torkelson, and California’s Vaughn.

STOPPER OF THE YEAR: Stanford’s sophomore Jack Little (RHP) is among five National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award finalists. Little pitched 45.1 innings this season, giving up only 26 hits and five runs.

ALL AMERICANS: Nine Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the Collegiate Baseball NCAA D1 All-American teams. Nine Pac-12 freshman appear on the Collegiate Baseball 2018 Freshman All-American list. ASU’s Torkelson landed Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors and Collegiate Baseball’s Co-Freshman Player of the Year for ranking in the top-10 in multiple Conference offensive categories. He is also the current national home run leader with 25 this season, which doubled Barry Bonds’ 1983 ASU freshman record of 11.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-Americans

First Team
Luke Heimlich, OSU - LHP
Gage Canning, ASU - OF

Second Team
Jack Little, STAN - RP
Andrew Vaughn, CAL - 1B
Spencer Torkelson, ASU - 1B
Chase Strumpf, UCLA - 2B
Trevor Larnach, OSU – OF

Third Team
Jake Mulholland, OSU - RP
Adley Rutschman, OSU – C

All-Freshman Team
Spencer Torkelson, ASU - 1B
Brendan Beck, STAN - RHP
Zach Pettway, UCLA - RHP
Jacob Palisch, STAN - RP
Kevin Abel, OSU - RP
Holden Powell, UCLA - RP
Dellan Raish, ASU - RP
Gage Workman, ASU - 3B
Tim Tawa, STAN - OF

COSIDA All-Academic All-District: The College Sports Information Directors of America announced Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 team honors highlighting 5-of-11 Pac-12 student-athletes.

Jake Bird, UCLA
Collin Maier, WSU
Daniel Rosica, UCLA
Cadyn Grenier, OSU
Jack Anderson, OSU

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings)

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE

2018 PAC-12 PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK