Senior starting pitcher Mark Appel was named the Pac-12 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday. Appel was a Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention each of the past two seasons.

Appel finished his degree in Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) last quarter. The senior was drafted No. 8 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft, but decided to return for his senior season.

Appel is 9-4 with a 2.20 ERA in 13 starts for the Cardinal this season. The righty is finishing his third season as the Friday-night starter for Stanford, and last week tied the Stanford career strikeout record.

Each school in the Pac-12 can dominate one player in each sport for the award. A committee of Pac-12 staff members then vote on the nominees to determine the winner. Athletic and academic accomplishments are both taken into consideration.

Appel is also in the running for most awards in college baseball, including the Golden Spikes Award, the Senior CLASS Award and many All-American honors.

Stanford is riding a four-game winning streak into its final series of the regular season against UCLA this weekend at Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal’s recent streak may put it in a position to earn a postseason berth, but barring any unprecedented events, Friday will be Appel’s last home collegiate start.