1/24/2022 baseball Edit

Oregon State Baseball Ranked 11th By Baseball America

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State baseball team will open its 2022 season ranked 11th by Baseball America, which released its preseason top 25 on Monday.

It’s the second preseason ranking for the Beavers, who are also 18th per D1Baseball.com.

Oregon State is coming off a 37-24 campaign in 2021, and advanced to the Regional Final of the Fort Worth Regional. The Beavers are buoyed by the return of preseason All-American Cooper Hjerpe, who finished fourth in the Pac-12 with 98 strikeouts last season. Jake Pfennigs returned after a 5-0 year, while Will Frisch was a Freshman All-American after going 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA a year ago.

Jacob Melton returns to the lineup after batting .404 with six home runs, 25 RBI and eight stolen bases in just 32 games. Wade Meckler roamed the outfield and hit .303, while Justin Boyd came on late to post a .301 average. Garret Forrester had a successful freshman season with a .299 batting average and seven home runs, his last coming on a walkoff to defeat Dallas Baptist in Fort Worth.

Oregon State opens the 2022 season Feb. 18 when taking on New Mexico in Surprise, Ariz.