Chazz Martinez snags Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week

OU lefty Chazz Martinez racked up 14 strikeouts against Northwestern State to earn the Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week.

Chazz Martinez had himself a big-league day inside a big-league ballpark at Globe Life Field against Northwestern State. Martinez struck out 14 Northwestern State batters in 7.0 shutout innings in the Sooners’ 5-1 Sunday series-clinching victory.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Tuesday that the 6-foot-3, 210 pound lefty earned the Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week for his performance.

It was the most strikeouts for an OU pitcher since Levi Prater registered 15 strikeouts against Missouri State back in 2019. The San Pedro, Calif., native didn’t allow a runner past second base in the game and struck out six consecutive batters in the second and third innings. The last time a Sooner pitcher struck out six straight was when Jake Irvin did so against Oklahoma State in 2018.

[lawrence-related id=58994]

Martinez was also named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week for his work against the Demons.

“Chazz set the tone, and with the two-run homer it made it a little bit easier for him to go out and keep competing pitch to pitch. I thought he was really competitive today. It was really good to get some runs early for him, instead of just grinding it out. We’re going to keep playing offense and keep practicing at it, and it should come around,” Oklahoma head baseball coach Skip Johnson said after the Sunday win.

After two starts this season, Martinez is 1-0, has registered 19 strikeouts against just one walk, has only surrendered seven hits and one unearned run.

OU heads to the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston with a 5-2 record. The Sooners open the event on Friday at 3 p.m. against LSU, play UCLA on Saturday at 11 a.m. and finish off the weekend versus Tennessee at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow usΒ @SoonersWireΒ on Twitter, and like our page onΒ Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.