the associated press
the associated press
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State’s top pitcher, who as a teenager pleaded guilty to molesting a 6-year-old girl, released a statement Friday saying he has asked to be excused from playing.
Luke Heimlich said in the statement that he didn’t want to be a distraction to the team, which began play in the NCAA super regionals on Friday evening against Vanderbilt. Heimlich’s attorney, Stephen Ensor, released the statement just hours before the game.
“I’m so proud of our team’s accomplishment and don’t want to be a distraction therefore I’ve respectfully requested to be excused from playing at this time,” Heimlich said in the statement.
He also said, “I have taken responsibility for my conduct when I was a teenager.”
Heimlich was cheered by the crowd at Goss Stadium when his name was announced with the rest of the Beavers in pregame introductions. He was in uniform.
The Beavers won the opening game of the best-of-three series 8-4. Afterward, coach Pat Casey commented about Heimlich for the first time. The decision to play would be Heimlich’s, the coach said.
“He’s a team guy and in his statement he said that he didn’t want to be a distraction,” Casey said. “I can just tell you that he is a fine young man and every second that he’s been on this campus, on and off the field, he’s been a first-class individual, one that his family should be proud of, your community should be proud of, our team is proud of. I believe in Luke.”
Heimlich’s criminal history was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday. In an editorial accompanying the article, the newspaper said it learned about Heimlich’s 2012 conviction in Washington State while doing a routine background check before running a profile on him.
Prosecutors initially charged Heimlich with two counts of molestation for abuse that began when the girl was 4, The Oregonian said.
Heimlich ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of molestation between February 2011 and December 2011, a period during which he was 15. Prosecutors dismissed the other charge as part of a plea bargain.