University Park, Pa. — The national recognition continues to pour in for the Penn State baseball team as senior pitcher David Lutz (West Chester, Pa.) was named CollegeBaseballInsider.com's Central Pitcher of the Week on Wednesday. This comes only hours after freshman outfielder Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) was named to College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup. Lutz went 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 11.0 innings in the Nittany Lions' dominating sweep over Michigan State last weekend.
CollegeBaseballInsider.com presents weekly national and regional awards to deserving student-athletes and teams. The regions are chosen based on conference affiliation. Penn State and the Big Ten are in the Central region, which features nine conferences and 87 total teams, including those in the Big 12 and Conference USA among others.
The recognition comes two days after Lutz was named the Lions' first Big Ten Pitcher of the Week since Drew O'Neil on May 14, 2007.
The two weekly honors equal Snyder's total, who is also a West Chester native. Snyder was named to the College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup only two days after garnering Big Ten Player of the Week laurels.
Lutz has continued to shine on the mound, throwing 11.0 innings (all against Michigan State), allowing only one earned run while striking out six. He won both of his outings to up his record to 4-3. In the process, he also set a new school record for career appearances (78) while tying the program's single-season mark (29) in the same category.
On Friday, Lutz tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, earning the win after Penn State exploded for 16 late-inning runs in an 18-7 victory. He then made his first-career start on Sunday, going the full nine innings in a convincing 9-1 win to the clinch the series sweep over the Spartans. It also marked the Lions' first nine-inning complete game since 2008. Lutz's hot streak extends back into early April as he owns a dazzling 0.76 ERA over his last 23.2 innings. Overall, he leads the squad with a 3.04 ERA and 56.1 innings pitched.
Penn State returns to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Friday in the series opener against the Iowa Hawkeyes. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the weekend action, along with Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.). Purchase your tickets today.
Season and individual game tickets are now available can be purchased online or over the phone. Please call 1-877-997-7453 or (814) 272-1711, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. for more information. Fans can also direct any additional questions or comments via phone, or by email (psubaseball@athletics.psu.edu).
Baseball camp information is now available. Call the Sports Camp Office at (814) 865-0561 or email them at SportCampInfo@outreach.psu.edu for more information.
Follow Penn State baseball on Twitter: www.twitter.com/psubaseball.
CollegeBaseballInsider.com National Players of the Week
National Player: Leo Aguirre (Austin, Texas) - New Mexico State senior first baseman
National Pitcher: Justin LaTempa (Huntington Beach, Calif.) - Oregon senior right-hander
Regional Players of the Week
Northeast Player: Andrew Clark (New Palestine, Ind.) - Louisville senior first baseman
Northeast Pitcher: Kyle Hendricks (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) - Dartmouth sophomore right-hander
Southeast Player: Bo Reeder (Cookeville, Tenn.) - ETSU sophomore infielder
Southeast Pitcher: Matteo D'Angelo (Bologna, Italy) - Winthrop junior right-hander
Central Player: Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio) - Ball State junior second baseman
Central Pitcher: David Lutz (West Chester, Pa.) - Penn State senior left-hander
West Player: Bryan Holaday (Dallas, Texas) - TCU senior catcher
West Pitcher: Martin Viramontes (Fresno, Calif.) - Loyola Marymount sophomore right-hander