CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb senior Matt Fraudin was named Big South Conference Pitcher of the Week Monday, as selected by the league office.
Fraudin (Upper St. Clair, Pa. / Upper St. Clair HS) picked up this season where he left off, keying a combined three-hit shutout in his first start of 2015 against James Madison.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound right-hander paced the Big South in strikeouts in 2013 and 2014 and earned All-Big South Conference honors in the process. He was named the Big South pitcher opposing teams would least want to face by the league's head coaches in a survey conducted by CollegeBaseballInsider.com in January.
Against James Madison on Saturday, Fraudin was sharp and efficient, hurling 7.0 innings despite a strict pitch count. He needed only 82 pitches to get through his scheduled work, allowing just three singles to the Dukes. He fanned nine men and issued only one walk, limiting James Madison to a frigid .125 batting average (3-for-24).
A testament to his effectiveness, the vintage Fraudin performance saw 19 of his 21 total outs recorded via strikeout or ground ball (10). Of the 22 right-handed batters he faced, only two collected hits (.091 batting average). His WHIP of 0.57 on Saturday also proved to be exceptional, and no James Madison batter reached base when leading off any of the seven innings Fraudin pitched.
Fraudin broke Gardner-Webb's career record for combined shutouts (5) in the process and currently ranks second in school history with a 2.76 career ERA. He also ranks third in Gardner-Webb history with 260 career strikeouts.
Stephen Gilmore and Landon Letchworth each tossed a scoreless inning to complete Saturday's shutout.
Fraudin's award comes in the wake of a strong showing overall by the Gardner-Webb pitching staff over the weekend. In four games, the Diamond 'Dogs walked just six batters in 36.0 innings of work and recorded 42 strikeouts.
Three of the four men who started games for GWU posted an ERA of 0.00 and all four starters lasted at least 5.0 innings. The GWU staff saw 12 different pitchers garner action in the opening four games, with 10 of those pitchers not allowing an earned run.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-1) remain home this week, hosting North Carolina Central on Wednesday, February 18, in Boiling Springs. First pitch is slated for 4:00 pm at John Henry Moss Stadium/Bill Masters Field.
