Beavers Advance to College World Series Championship

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Oregon State and Arkansas compete in a best-of-three series for the 2018 national championship at TD Ameritrade Park starting on Monday. The two teams have met three times previously with the most recent coming in 1995. Oregon State has advanced to the championship series for the third time in program history after winning the national title in 2006 and 2007. The Beavers played out of the loser’s bracket in 2006 and then swept all five games in Omaha in 2007. Oregon State is the first team to reach the College World Series Championship after losing its CWS opener since South Carolina in 2010.

The Pac-12 has the most NCAA Championship series (45) and CWS semifinal appearances (69) of any Power 5 conference in the nation.

Pac-12 - 69 (Finals 45; Semis 24)
SEC - 50 (Finals 29; Semis 21)
ACC - 36 (Finals 16; Semis 20)

3 – Three current Pac-12 baseball members have reached the CWS Finals in four of the last seven years (Oregon State 2018; Arizona 2016, 2012; UCLA 2013) eight of the last 15, and 12 of the last 20. Oregon State is making its second straight trip and its third CWS semifinals appearance in the past six years (2013, 2017, 2018).

11 – OSU is the first team to score at least 11 runs in three consecutive College World Series games since 1995.

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

22-9 – OSU moves to 22-9 in elimination games under Pat Casey’s tutelage. The last time a team won six elimination games at the CWS was the Beavers’ 2006 title run.

6 – OSU 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.

OREGON STATE: Oregon State has broken its team records for hits, RBI, doubles and home runs. With five runs on Saturday, the Beavers have scored a team-record 507 runs, surpassing the 2006 club’s 504. The Beavers broke two team records during its win over the Huskies, including its single-season hit record with 689 this year after finishing with 16 hits on Monday, surpassing OSU’s 2006 National Championship team (684). Tyler Malone’s eighth-inning home run against UW was the Beavers’ 61st homer of the season, breaking the previous program record of 60 that was set in 1998. The last time a team won six elimination games in the NCAA CWS was when OSU won its 2006 national title. The Beavers are 33-2 in non-conference games this season with only one loss coming during the regular season. In College World Series history only four teams have scored 14-or-more runs in the past decade.

Adley Rutschman’s 10 RBI are the most in Omaha since Arizona State’s Kole Calhoun tallied 11 in 2009. His 80 RBIs are an Oregon State single-season record and the most by a Pac-12 player since Arizona State’s Brett Wallace posted 83 RBI during the 2008 season. It’s the most RBI by a player from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State) since Washington State’s John Olerud had 81 RBI in 1988.

Senior pitcher Luke Heimlich and junior second baseman Nick Madrigal both earned 2018 All-America honors, becoming the seventh and eighth players in program history to record All-America status in multiple seasons during their careers.

PAC-12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Oregon State’s Jack Anderson was named 2018 Pac-12 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on June 19. The senior outfielder boasts a 3.71 grade-point average as a kinesiology major. He has earned Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selections in each of the last three seasons (2016-18) and was a CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 First-Team honoree the past two years. Anderson has played in 56 games this season, starting 41, and is batting .275 with nine doubles, one triple and 13 RBIs.

PAC-12 CWS MATCHUP: In the third game of the College World Series, two Pac-12 teams met for the first time since Arizona defeated UCLA during its 2012 national title run.

PAC-12 REACHES CWS SEMIFINALS: Current Pac-12 baseball members ave reached the CWS Semifinals in each of the last three years, seven times in the past decade, 11 of the last 15 years, 16 of the last 20 years, and 20 of the last 25 years. Oregon State made its second straight trip and its third CWS semifinals appearance in the past six years (2013, 2017, 2018).

OSU HISTORIC WIN TOTAL: Oregon State reached 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)

PAC-12’S STORIED CWS HISTORY:

An NCAA-best seven different Pac-12 members have won a College World Series title. 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.

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.

GOLDEN SPIKES: CALIFORNIA’s Andrew Vaughn, the 2018 Pac-12 Player of the Year, is 1-of-4 players tabbed a USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Finalist. The award will be presented after the CWS on June 28 in Los Angeles. 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 Larnach, and Madrigal, Arizona State’s Torkelson, and California’s Vaughn.

TWO-TIME PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Oregon State LHP 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. Heimlich was recently honored as National Pitcher of the Year by College Baseball Foundation.

GRENIER TABBED BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WINNER: Oregon State shortstop Cayden Grenier was named the Brooks Wallace Award winner as the nation’s top shortstop. Grenier becomes the first Pac-12 player to earn the award. Grenier hit .322 with five home runs and 44 RBI, while maintaining  a .973 fielding percentage (221 total chances/73 putouts/142 assists/6 errors).

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

Ten Pac-12 baseball players appear on the 2018 NCBWA Division I All-America Teams, while four players were named to the All-Freshman Team.

NCBWA 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

NCBWA Freshman All-Americans

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

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

Nine Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the Baseball America NCAA D1 All-America Teams. Oregon State led the national with four honorees across all three teams, highlighted by first team selection Trevor Larnach. Six schools had two players honored including two Pac-12 members —Arizona State and California (Southern Mississippi, Stetson, Tennessee Tech and Texas Tech). In all, 35 schools are represented on the All-America teams.

Baseball America All-Americans

First Team
Trevor Larnach, OSU, OF            
Andrew Vaughn, CAL, 1B            
Jack LIttle, STAN, RHP               

Second Team
Adley Rutschman, OSU, C          
Spencer Torkelson, ASU, 1B      
Cadyn Grenier, OSU, SS              
Tanner Dodson, CAL, OF            

Third Team
Nick Madrigal, OSU, 2B              
Gage Canning, ASU, 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