6/15/2022 baseball Edit

Cooper Hjerpe Named National Pitcher Of The Year

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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LUBBOCK, Texas – Oregon State sophomore Cooper Hjerpe has been named the National Pitcher of the Year, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Monday.

Hjerpe, a Capay, Calif., native, finished the 2022 season with an 11-1 record and 2.53 earned run average. He struck out an Oregon State single-season record 161 batters, which also currently leads the nation. He is vying to become the first pitcher in program history to lead the nation in strikeouts.

The left-hander held opponents to a .180 batting average, giving up just 67 hits in 103 1/3 innings. Hjerpe issued 23 walks to finish the season with a 0.87 WHIP.

His list of accomplishments during the 2022 season span much further. He tied the Oregon State single-game record with 17 strikeouts on April 1 versus Stanford, and recorded 10 or more in eight of his 17 starts. He also pitched at least five innings in all but one start, and in his one relief outing, recorded five of his six outs via strikeouts to earn the save against Vanderbilt on June 6.

The honor continues a trend for the lefty. He’s also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, which are both given to the nation’s top player. Hjerpe has been named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, with more expected to come.

He was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection and a two-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. Hjerpe was also named the NCBWA’s National Pitcher of the Week after his 17-strikeout performance versus Stanford.

Hjerpe is the 13th recipient of the award, which was first given out in 2009. He is the second Beaver to be recognized, joining Luke Heimlich in 2018. Oregon State is the only program to have two National Pitcher of the Year Award winners.