Following the best start of his career, Ole Miss baseball ace James McArthur was named SEC Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon. McArthur earned the honor after shutting down No. 10 Arkansas Thursday night (April 27).
McArthur won his second SEC weekly accolade of his career. Last year, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week (April 25, 2016) after pitching 11.2 scoreless innings over two appearances. He became the fourth Rebel to earn an SEC weekly award this season as well as the second in as many weeks. Ryan Olenek was the SEC Player of the Week after opening weekend (February 20), David Parkinson was named SEC Pitcher of the Week (March 13) and Ryan Rolison collected SEC Freshman of the Week honors last week (April 24).
Taking the mound in the series opener at No. 10 Arkansas, McArthur allowed only one hit over a career-high 8.0 innings. Six of those frames were 1-2-3 innings by McArthur. The New Braunsfels, Texas, native faced 27 batters and retired 24 of them, allowing only one walk and a solo home run. He struck out six during his personal-best outing, keeping a good Arkansas offense in check through his eight innings of work.
McArthur cruised through the first four innings, sending down 12 of the first 13 hitters. The sophomore only allowed a two-out walk during that stretch. Starting the bottom of the fifth, a solo homer became the only hit surrendered by McArthur. Another walk is the only other baserunner the Razorbacks got throughout the rest of the night as McArthur helped Ole Miss hang on to the lead and secure the victory.
In a league with a plethora of talent on the mound, McArthur leads SEC qualified pitchers in opponent batting average (.169). He has only allowed 31 hits in 52.2 innings, which also tops the conference. Through nine starts, McArthur holds a 3-3 record with a 3.08 ERA and 47 strikeouts.
McArthur and the Rebels return to Swayze Field this week, hosting ULM for a pair of midweek matchups (May 2-3). First pitch for Tuesday’s game is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT, while the series wraps up Wednesday at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on SECN+ as well as the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.
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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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