OSU release – CORVALLIS, Ore. – The honors keep pouring in for Cooper Hjerpe. For the second time Wednesday, the left-hander has been named the National Pitcher of the Year. This time, it’s by Perfect Game/Rawlings, which released its annual All-American and Freshman All-American teams. Hjerpe, who was also named the National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation, is a First-Team All-American who has also been recognized by Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He finished the 2022 season with an 11-2 record and 2.53 earned run average and leads the nation with a school-record 161 strikeouts. Jacob Melton earned his third First-Team All American honor of the year; he’s also been recognized by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. He ended the season batting .360 with 22 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs and 83 runs batted in. The 83 RBI tie Adley Rutschman (2018) for the most in a single-season at OSU. Melton, a Medford, Ore., native, was also the 2022 Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year. Hjerpe and Melton are joined by Justin Boyd as 2022 All-Americans, giving Oregon State three or more in the same season for the sixth time since 2013. Joining Hjerpe and Melton in Perfect Game recognition are second baseman Travis Bazzana and right-handed pitcher Jacob Kmatz. Bazzana was named a Freshman All-America First-Team honoree. Kmatz has been named to the second team. Bazzana batted .306 in his first season in Corvallis, tallying 16 doubles with four triples, six home runs and 44 RBI while stealing 14 bases. He’s also been recognized by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. Kmatz posted an 8-2 record in his first season as a Beaver, posting a 4.19 ERA while limiting opponents to 73 hits in 77 1/3 innings with 65 strikeouts. The honor is the second for Kmatz, who was also recognized by Collegiate Baseball.
