NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State baseball fifth-year senior Derek Salata has been named a National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News, the organization announced Monday.
Salata, who was one of five pitchers honored and the only player from the Missouri Valley Conference, fired six innings with 11 strikeouts in Friday's game at Belmont without allowing an earned run.
Salata is the sixth Redbird since 2000 with three-plus outings of 10-plus strikeouts in a single season (2019 - Brent Headrick, 9th Round to MIN; 2014 - Jeremy Rhoades, 4th Round to LAA; 2011 - Corey Maines, 23rd Round to NYY; 2001 - Neal Cotts, 2nd Round to OAK; 2000 - Brian Forystek, 4th Round to BAL).
Despite having a start skipped due to game cancellations, Salata leads the MVC in strikeouts with 43 and K/9 at 14.0.
Salata is the third player in Illinois State history to receive a National Player/Pitcher of the Week honor, joining Daniel Pacella and Ryan Cermak.
Pacella smacked four home runs in a four-game stretch earlier in 2023, highlighted by a two-run home run game at Central Arkansas on 3/5/23.
Cermak blasted home runs in four-straight at-bats in 2022, highlighted by a three-home run, 10-RBI game in which he smashed grand slams in back-to-back innings (at Western Illinois, 4/6/2022). Cermak earned National Player of the Week honors from four publications.
Illinois State is scheduled to play 17th-ranked Iowa in Normal on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. CT.
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