4/6/2022 baseball Edit

Hjerpe, Melton Named To Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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CARY, N.C. – Oregon State left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe and outfielder Jacob Melton have been named to the 2022 Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list, USA Baseball announced on Tuesday.

Hjerpe is 6-0 this season and has 68 strikeouts, which is tied for fifth nationally. He’s coming off his second Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honor after striking out 17 versus Stanford Friday, which tied a 28-year old Oregon State record and stands as the most by an NCAA Division I pitcher this season. Hjerpe was also named the Co-National Pitcher of the Week by the NCBWA on Tuesday.

Melton, meanwhile, leads the Pac-12 and is tied for sixth nationally with 41 runs batted in. He is batting .376, just one point shy of teammate Travis Bazzana for the OSU lead, with a team-best nine home runs. He has a 1.131 OPS this season thanks to a .726 slugging percentage and .405 on-base percentage.

Oregon State is one of eight teams nationally with two or more players on the watch list, and is the only school from the Pac-12 with that distinction.

Hjerpe and Melton give the Beavers 18 selections on the midseason watch list since 2013, which ties Vanderbilt for the most nationally. OSU’s 18 doubles Arizona State’s nine, as the Sun Devils have the second-most among Pac-12 programs.

Additionally, 13 Oregon State players have combined for those 18 selections, the third-most in the nation.