Heimlich Pitcher of the Year, June 14

Oregon State senior Luke Heimlich has been named the National Pitcher of the Year, presented by the College Baseball Foundation, as announced by the organization on Wednesday. Heimlich, a left-hander from Puyallup, Wash., leads the nation with 16 wins and his school-record 151 strikeouts ranks third nationally. He’s the first pitcher in school history to earn the honor, and follows in the footsteps of 2017 recipient Steven Gingery of Texas Tech. Aaron Nola (2014 – LSU), Trevor Bauer (2011 – UCLA) and Stephen Strasburg (2009 – San Diego State) are among previous recipients. Heimlich has allowed just 91 hits in 120 1/3 innings, holding opponents to a .211 batting average. He has recorded quality starts in 16 of his 17 starts. Since an April 13 win at Missouri State, Heimlich has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in seven of nine starts. Over that stretch, he has struck out 94 in 68 2/3 innings, allowing 44 hits and 12 earned runs – a 1.57 earned run average. Heimlich was named the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Year in May, becoming the first to win the honor in back-to-back years since Arizona State’s Mike Leake in 2008 and 2009. Heimlich is also an All-Pac-12 performer and an All-Academic honorable mention selection, majoring in speech communication. He has been recognized by two All-American teams – the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball. CWS Opener – Oregon State opens the 2018 College World Series Saturday versus North Carolina at 12 p.m. PT (2 p.m. in Omaha). The game will air live on ESPN.