Vanderbilt's Leiter Named SEC C0-Freshman of the Week

Vanderbilt freshman pitcher Jack Leiter earns first-ever SEC honor.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt starting pitcher Jack Leiter has been named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week following his dominant debut, the conference office announced Monday.

The Summit, New Jersey, native did not permit a hit across five scoreless frames Tuesday against South Alabama. His 12 strikeouts were the most for an SEC freshman pitcher in a game this season and were tied for second overall, trailing only Texas A&M’s Asa Lacy (14).

Leiter fanned 12 of his 16 batters faced while allowing just one baserunner. His efforts began a stretch of 27.1 consecutive scoreless innings for Commodore pitching, the longest for a Vanderbilt staff since March 15-19, 2011.

Leiter and his fellow Commodores pitchers finished the week a perfect 5-0 and with a staff ERA of 0.93. 

Leiter's performance kicked off the five-game win streak last Tuesday when he dominated South Alabama in the Commodores home-opener for the 2020 season. 

"For me, it was just staying in the moment."@jackleiter22 with an impressive debut.#VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/o9uWj0AyQt

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 19, 2020

The Commodores are back in action Tuesday against Evansville. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. from Hawkins Field. 

While the starting pitchers have not been announced for this week's five games, Leiter will most likely take the mound in either they Tuesday matchup with Evansville or Wednesday contest against St. Louis, also at Hawkins Field. 

The Commodores are now 6-2 on the season and 5-0 at home, with both losses coming in neutral site games in the MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Az.