Two Spartans Earn Big Ten Weekly Baseball Honors
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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Junior right-hander Andrew Waszak has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, while freshman first baseman Ryan Krill has earned Freshman of the Week honors, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon.
Waszak threw seven shutout innings in Michigan State’s 6-0 win over Indiana in game one of a doubleheader on Sunday. The Rochester Hills, Mich., product struck out a season-high five and scattered just three hits while walking one in earning his fourth victory of the season.
Waszak has been steady all season, as Sunday marked his eighth quality start of the season (at least six innings pitched; three earned runs or less). He ranks second in the Big Ten in ERA at 1.82, and also ranks among the league leaders in opposing batting average (first at .191), innings pitched (seventh at 59.1) and wins (tied for 10th with four).
This marks the first Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award for Waszak.
Krill was the hottest Spartan at the plate last week, batting .619 (13-for-21) in five games. He started the week by going 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI in the win over Notre Dame on April 10, then posted three hits and two RBIs against Eastern Michigan April 11.
In the series at Indiana, Krill hit .643 (9-for-14), collecting three hits in each game. In Sunday’s doubleheader sweep over the Hoosiers, Krill went 3-for-4 with two runs in game one, and followed that effort by going 3-for-6 with four runs and two RBIs in the second game as MSU won, 20-10.
Overall, Krill has boosted his average to .305 for the season and is tied for fourth on the team in slugging at .421. He has five doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs in 31 games of action, including 19 starts at first base and four as the designated hitter. In his last 10 games, he is batting a team-best .462 (18-for-39).
The Michigan State baseball team (22-12, 5-4 Big Ten) returns to action for a non-conference contest against Western Michigan Tuesday, April 17 at McLane Baseball Stadium; first pitch is set for 3:05 p.m.