Bend Elks fans were fortunate to see a young Jake Thompson further develop during the summer of 2014. Fast forward to 2017, and the redshirt junior is having arguably the best season of any pitcher in the country.

He tossed a complete game shutout this past Saturday vs. Washington State and was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week this morning for the second time this spring.

Prior to enrolling at OSU, Thompson, a native of Florence, Oregon, was advised and groomed by the West Coast League’s inaugural commissioner – Jim Dietz – also a Florence resident.

Jake has been absolutely dominant this season for the #1-ranked Oregon State Beavers, who set a Pac-12 record with 27 conference wins with its sweep of WSU. OSU is 45-4 overall and 27-3 in the Pac-12.

Thompson is 12-0 with 1.01 ERA and has struck out 94 over 98 innings pitched. His 12 wins are the most in NCAA DI baseball. He’s 8-0 in the Pac-12 with a 0.88 ERA. and Pac-12 hitters batted .171 vs. big #44.

The Beavers have concluded Pac-12 play and will tune up for the post-season with a four-game series vs. Abilene Christian May 25-28.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 13-year-old, 11-team, professionally operated wood-bat league located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest features pro prospects from major conferences across the nation and an unparalleled history out west of great fan and player experiences in addition to the best summer weather in North America. In 2016, 88 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB June draft, and more than 230 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 28 in the major leagues, such as 2015 home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), 2015 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay) and rising star pitchers Matt Andriese (Tampa Bay), Matt Boyd (Detroit) and James Paxton (Seattle). Overall member attendance was 379,611 this past season.