by STARKVILLE – Aspen Wesley has been tabbed the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this year, the conference office announced on Monday. She is the first Bulldog pitcher to earn multiple SEC Pitcher of the Week awards in one season and marks the first time State has won multiple pitcher honors in one season since 2014.
Wesley held the SEC’s top home run-hitting offense without a long ball in two complete-game victories over the weekend against No. 14/12 Georgia. She allowed just one run in 14.0 innings, and struck out eight, coming one shy of her career high, in both games.
While helping State reach a historic milestone, Wesley rewrote multiple school records along the way. The Bulldogs finished the year with a .500 record in conference play for the first time since 2007. Wesley was responsible for nine of State’s 12 wins in league play, which is tied for the MSU individual single-season record. She’s now won a career-best 14 games overall this year.
Wesley’s Friday night shutout was her third in conference play this year, which is also tied for the MSU single-season record. She became the first Bulldog pitcher in program history to hold SEC hitters below a .200 batting average (.197) for the season.
The Philadelphia, Mississippi, native continues to post a career year, recording career highs in innings pitched (115.2), strikeouts (122), wins, complete games (12) and shutouts (3). She will lead State into the SEC Tournament on Wednesday as the No. 6 seed, which is the Bulldogs’ highest finish since the shift to a 24-game schedule.
