Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman named National Player of the Month by NCBWA
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman has been named the National Player of the Month for April, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced on Monday.
Rutschman helped guide the Beavers to a 12-6 mark in the month of April and did so by batting .455 with five doubles, seven home runs and 23 runs batted in over the 18 games.
The Sherwood, Ore., native reached base safely in 17 of the team’s 18 games, and hit safely in 16. He racked up 19 walks to finish with a .563 on-base percentage, and coupled with his .848 slugging percentage, tallied a 1.411 OPS.
He opened the month by being named the Pac-12 Conference’s Player of the Week on April 8 after the Beavers swept Utah. Later on, he hit his second career inside-the-park home run during Oregon State’s sweep of Arizona. The following week, in the first game of the series versus Washington State, he drove in a season-best five runs, capped by his second grand slam of the year.
Defensively, Rutschman was stellar. He handled 171 chances without committing and error and just three runners attempted to steal against him. All three were thrown out.
Rutschman, a finance major, heads into the series with Oregon batting .429 with eight doubles, one triple, 16 home runs and 53 RBI to go along with an Oregon State single-season record 59 walks. His .576 on-base percentage leads the nation, while his .429 batting average is third and .805 slugging percentage is fourth.
Next Up
Oregon State takes on Oregon in the the Civil War Series presented by PacificSource Health Plans, Spirit Mountain Casino, Safeway-Albertsons, Your Local Toyota Dealers and First Interstate Bank. First pitch Friday is slated for 7:05 p.m. PT at PK Park in Eugene.
