OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Oregon State players were happy to answer any questions about the baseball part of the College World Series. The topic of Luke Heimlich was a non-starter.
Heimlich, the Pac-12 pitcher of the year, announced Thursday he would not accompany the Beavers to Omaha because he didn’t want to be a distraction. Last week it was revealed that when Heimlich was a teenager he pleaded guilty to molesting a 6-year-old girl. He did not pitch in the Beavers’ super regional against Vanderbilt.
Coach Pat Casey said Heimlich made the decision to stay home on his own; if Heimlich had wanted to, he would have been allowed to travel to Omaha with the team. Oregon State, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, opens the CWS on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton.
Players gushed over the opportunity to play for a national championship and the success they’ve enjoyed this season. At 54-4, the Beavers have the fewest losses of any team entering a CWS since Texas came 57-4 in in 1982.
Questions to a half-dozen players about Heimlich and his absence were deflected with no comment or responses about how the team is close-knit and how it approaches games “one game at a time, one pitch at a time.”