After leading Seattle University to its first victory of the 2016 season with an exemplary pitching performance, sophomore lefthander Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) has been selected as one of the Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week, announced Monday morning by Collegiate Baseball.
Skubal set the Seattle U single-game record for strikeouts with 13 in seven innings of work against Saint Mary’s College Sunday, allowing just three hits and one walk. Skubal struck out the side in the second inning, plus he earned eight of his final 11 outs via the strikeout. He threw 98 pitches, 63 of them (64.3%) for strikes.
“Skubal was exactly what we needed, as he dominated the entire day,” Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel said after the game.
Skubal was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and Second Team All-WAC selection last season after posting a 7-4 record with a 3.24 earned run average, striking out 68 batters in 83 1/3 innings on the mound. He previously shared the Redhawk single-game strikeout record with 11 strikeouts against Chicago State on May 10, 2015.
Skubal is one of two lefthanded pitchers from the Western Athletic Conference to receive the national honor, along with Zach Muckenhirn of North Dakota, who threw a complete game shutout against USC, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out nine Trojans.
Seattle University (1-3) opens the home schedule next weekend with a four-game series against Bowling Green, starting with a single game Friday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. Live stats and a live stream will be available for the game on GoSeattleU.com, and tickets will be available at the front gate starting 60 minutes before first pitch.