Oregon State center fielder Jacob Melton will, officially, will be remembered alongside some of the Beavers’ all-time greats.
Melton on Tuesday was named the the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year, becoming the sixth player in Oregon State history to earn the award, which is determined by a vote by the conference’s coaches.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Cole Gillespie, Michael Conforto, Nick Madrigal and Adley Rutschman also have won conference player of the year honors for the Beavers.
Melton, a 6-foot-3 junior from Medford, did a little bit of everything for No. 4 Oregon State, hitting .361 with 15 home runs, 20 doubles, 57 runs scored, 19 stolen bases and 71 RBIs. He finished in the top 10 in virtually every offensive category in the conference, including first in RBIs and slugging percentage (.702), tied for second in stolen bases, tied for third in doubles and fifth in homers and batting average.
Less than a year after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery, Melton opened the year with a 17-game hitting streak and rarely let up, even though opposing pitchers routinely pitched around him. Coach Mitch Canham penciled Melton in the three, four or five hole, and he was a stabilizing force on an offense that led the conference in runs (415) and walks (322), and finished fourth in batting average (292).
Of course, Melton also had a lot of help, and he was not the only Oregon State player honored by Pac-12 coaches.
Eight Beavers earned First-Team All-conference selections, including ace left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, outfielder Wade Meckler, first baseman Garret Forrester, infielder Travis Bazzana, catcher Gavin Logan, closer Ryan Brown and reliever Ben Ferrer. Outfielder Justin Boyd and starter pitcher Jacob Kmatz were named to the honorable mention team, while Bazzana and Boyd also earned All-Defensive Team honors.
The group helped the Beavers (41-13) finish second in the Pac-12, one-game behind Stanford, barely missing out on the regular season championship because they lost four of their final five games. But Oregon State will have a chance at redemption this week, when it plays in the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Beavers open the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday, when they face the Washington Huskies at 4:45 p.m at Scottsdale Stadium.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
