Tag: Pitcher of the Week

Kelly Maxwell earns NFCA, Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors

After a stellar week in the circle, Oklahoma Sooners star Kelly Maxwell earned NFCA and Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards.

What a week it was for [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] in the circle for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Maxwell opened the week with a no-hitter against Tarleton State and then got the Sooners’ weekend in Lubbock started off with a bang, throwing six shutout innings in the series-opening win over Texas Tech.

For her efforts, Maxwell was named NFCA and Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

She allowed just six base runners (two hits and four walks) and struck out 17 in her 11 innings of work. The opponents hit just .056 against Maxwell in her two starts.

Maxwell improved to 8-0 on the season. She leads the Sooners in innings pitched with 48 and an opponents batting averaged at .148.

Since allowing three runs in 3.2 innings against Louisiana, the star pitcher has gone 18 innings without allowing a run.

As the Sooners pursue their fourth-straight national title, Maxwell has provided that front of the rotation starter the Sooners needed. She’s been as advertised since making the move from Stillwater to Norman and will be key to Oklahoma’s national title defense.

It’s Maxwell’s second Big 12 Pitcher of the Week award and the eighth of her career.

The Sooners are back in action Wednesday against UT Arlington at Love’s Field. The Mavericks are 10-16 in 2024 and have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma vs. UT Arlington

More: 5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s sweep of Texas Tech

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Florida closer Brandon Neely earns SEC Pitcher of the Week honors

After hurling six scoreless innings against Florida State and Texas A&M, Florida closer Brandon Neely is the SEC Pitcher of the Week.

After a shaky start to the season, Florida’s closer, Brandon Neely, has been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week after throwing six scoreless innings during Week 5 of the college baseball season.

Neely first appeared in a losing effort against Florida State. He struck out the side on 18 pitches, keeping him fresh for a three-inning save on Friday night against Texas A&M. Neely struck out another three, surrendering just one hit in his first appearance against the Aggies, and then returned on Sunday to go two more.

Although he walked two batters in the series finale, Neely earned the win after a Tyler Shelnut go-ahead, two-run home run. Luke McNeillie closed out the game because Neely had some bicep tightness, but he should be good moving forward.

On Friday, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan expressed frustration over Neely’s usage through the first 17 games. He said that they wanted to use him more like Arkansas did Hagan Smith a year ago. Winning on Friday nights is big, and Sully knows he has perhaps the nation’s best Sunday arm in Jac Caglianone to lean on to close things out.

A preseason All-American, Neely is just starting to live up to expectations. This might not be the last time he takes home an SEC weekly award, especially considering how young the rest of Florida’s bullpen is.

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