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The Diamond Hogs swept Missouri over the first weekend of the conference season, and did so in impressive pitching fashion. In three pitchers' duels, the Hogs came out on top including one walk-off victory on Sunday.
Hitter of the Week
After adjusting his contact prescription this week, designated hitter Matt Goodheart turned in a pair of 2-hit games including two doubles and an RBI in the Friday night opener. While each game seemed to have a different offensive hero, Goodheart’s consistency in 2/3 games was a welcoming sight after his early season struggles. If he can solidify that DH spot in the order he will improve this lineup immensely.
Pitcher of the Week
While it is very hard to not highlight Campbell’s start on Friday night, Matt Cronin was dominant over the first two games of the weekend and nailed down 2 saves in back to back days. He threw two innings and allowed one base runner on a walk while striking out 4. They were his 5th and 6th saves of the young season.
Most Important Stat
16.2 innings pitched by starters over the course of three games equates to an average of over 5 innings pitched per start. While arms are still in the process of being stretched to last longer in starts, the first weekend in conference is early for that kind of production among all three starters. Oh, and by the way, they only allowed 1 run and struck out 22 in the three starts.
Mid Week Warrior
Heston Kjerstad went 5 for 6 in a two game series against Western Illinois. In the second game he was 4 for 4 and came a double shy of hitting for the cycle.