STANFORD, Calif. - Sophomore reliever Colton Hock earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week accolades as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
This is the first career weekly Pac-12 honor for Hock, as Stanford has now won the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week award in each of the first two weeks of the season. Freshman Tristan Beck garnered the honor on Feb. 23 after 6.1 scoreless innings against No. 22 Cal State Fullerton in his collegiate debut. Prior to that, the last Stanford pitcher to receive this award was 2013 MLB No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel in May of 2013.
"I'm excited to receive this award," Hock said, "though it could have gone to a handful of Stanford pitchers this week. It's a great feeling to see Stanford win back-to-back Pitcher of the Week awards following Tristan's great start against Cal State Fullerton last week. Hopefully it's a trend that we can keep going throughout the season."
Hock was a standout in the program’s longest shut out on record (since 1959) -- a 1-0 win in 12 innings at #23 Texas on Thursday. The extra-inning pitchers duel was highlighted by Hock, who pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief and struck out a career-high eight batters. In the longest outing of his career, the Bloomsburg, Pa., native allowed just three hits and kept the game scoreless through the 10th.
.@Hockeye in relief at #23 Texas tonight. Incredible effort...#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/4SvRcgl18q
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 26, 2016
Hock inherited a runner on second with one out in the fourth inning, but got a quick ground out and then stranded the runner at third with the first of many big punch outs on the night. The first time Hock allowed a Texas baserunner in scoring position was in the ninth. But with two outs and runners on first and second, he came through with another strike out. In the bottom of the 10th, the Longhorns loaded the bases with two outs. But Hock came up with yet another inning-ending strikeout. Stanford scored in the top of the 12th to earn the win.
Hock and the Cardinal meet St. Mary's at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. before a showdown with No. 2 Vanderbilt. Stanford hosts the Commodores for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. Both weekend games can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
#GoStanford