SAN FRANCISCO – Oregon State junior Luke Heimlich has been named the Pac-12 Conference’s Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced on Monday.
The honor comes on the heels of his 7 1/3 scoreless innings on Friday in Los Angeles, limiting UCLA to two hits while striking out 10, one shy of tying his career-high. He held the Bruins hitless through 6 2/3 innings.
Heimlich didn’t end up with the victory in Oregon State’s 4-2 win, but he did lower his earned run average to 0.75, which now leads the nation. He is the only pitcher with enough qualifying innings – one inning pitched per team game – to have a sub-1.00 ERA.
The Puyallup, Wash., native earned his first Pac-12 honor on Feb. 21. A speech communication major, he is also on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.
The honor is also the third of Heimlich’s career – his first came in 2016 – and he’s now one of 11 pitchers in school history with three or more.
The award is the fifth earned by an Oregon State pitcher this season, the most in a single-season since the 1998 Beavers won nine as part of the Pac-10 Northern Division. Bryce Fehmel, Jake Thompson and Jake Mulholland have also been recognized in 2017.
Next Up
Oregon State returns home to start an eight-game homestand in the first of five meetings between the Beavers and Oregon this season on Tuesday. The Civil War, presented by PacificSource Health Plans, Spirit Mountain Casino, Safeway/Albertsons and Your Local Toyota Dealers, gets underway at 5:35 p.m. PT at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.