Conforto, Moore, Casey Earn Pac-12 Postseason Honors
May 29, 2013
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Oregon State sophomore outfielder Michael Conforto was named the Pac-12 Conference's Player of the Year on Wednesday, while right-handed pitcher Andrew Moore is the Freshman of the Year and Pat Casey is its Coach of the Year.
The Pac-12 announced its postseason honors on Wednesday, and in addition to the trio's recognition, seven Beavers were named to the league's first team.
For Casey, it's the fifth Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor of his career. He also earned the honor in 1997, 2005, 2006 and 2011 and is the 2013 winner after guiding the Beavers to a 45-10 record and 24-6 mark in conference play. The team's .800 winning percentage in Pac-12 play is the best by any club since the then-Pac-10 unified prior to the 1999 season.
OSU's 45 wins mark also just the second time in school history the Beavers won at least 40 during the regular season. The Beavers finished with winning records in all but two weekends of play this season and recorded sweeps in eight, including five against Pac-12 foes.
Conforto gives the Beavers three players of the year since 1999, and is the first since Cole Gillespie in 2006, who won it after Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005.
Conforto, the Pac-12's Freshman of the Year in 2012, batted .332 during the regular season and finished second in the Pac-12 with nine home runs. He is also tops in the league with 37 walks.
A native of Woodinville, Wash., Conforto is the first player to earn player of the year honors the year after being named the freshman of the year since the league began the latter award in 1999.
The honor adds to an already impressive list of awards this season for Conforto, who was also named the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Week twice.
Moore, meanwhile, gives the Beavers two consecutive Freshmen of the Year after Conforto's honor in 2012. The Beavers join Stanford (2010-11) as the only Pac-12 clubs to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.
Moore was certainly deserving of the award after leading the Pac-12 with 12 victories, which places him in a tie for third nationally. He posted a 1.22 earned run average during the regular season, good for second in the league and finished with a 0.93 WHIP (walks plus hits per nine innings).
Moore enters the postseason on a seven-game win streak and was named the Pac-12's Pitcher of the Week May 20 after throwing a two-hit shutout in OSU's 9-0 win over Oregon. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last 42 innings of work.
The Beavers turn their sights to UTSA, whom OSU will host Friday in the club's opening game of the Corvallis Regjonal. First pitch is slated for 5:05 p.m. PT and can be seen live on ESPN3.com.
The game can be heard on the Beaver Sports Network with the following stations carrying the game: KEJO 1240-AM in Corvallis/Albany, FOX Sports Radio Portland (620-AM), KICE 940-AM (Bend) and KSKR 1490-AM in Roseburg.
All-session tickets were made available to the general public starting at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Infield reserved tickets are $100 while outfield general admission seats are $75 and student outfield seats cost $56. All-session tickets guarantee the holder to all six games of the regional, and a seventh if necessary game.
Single-game tickets will be made available on each day - pending availability - and cost $20 for infield reserved seats, $15 for outfield general admission and $12 for student outfield seats. The ticket office at Goss Stadium will open at 10 a.m. on the first day of the regional and two hours prior to the first game's first pitch each subsequent day.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS, going online at BeaverTickets.com or in person at Gill Coliseum, which is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball.
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