Texas Tech baseball’s Steven Gingery has been awarded National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation, it was announced today.
It is the first time a Red Raider has been selected for the award, which will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation in July in Miami in conjunction with the MLB All-Star Game festivities.
The 2017 trophy case for the Huntington Beach, California, lefty is starting to fill up, as he was honored as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year at the end of the conference slate. He also garnered first team All-America nods by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, making him the 98th overall All-American in school history and the 16th under head coach Tim Tadlock and his staff.
In his second season in the scarlet & black, Gingery was masterful on the mound, racking up a 10-1 record over 15 starts. Through 91.1 innings, he allowed only 21 runs, 16 earned, for an ERA of 1.58. He struck out a team-best 107, while holding opposing batters to a measly .186 at the plate.
His 10 victories marked back-to-back seasons a Red Raider pitcher has hit double-digit win totals, as Davis Martin accomplished the feat in 2016. It was also the 10th time Tech has had pitchers register 10-win seasons in consecutive years. The win total also ranks 10th in the NCAA in 2017 and is tied for ninth all-time at Texas Tech.
Gingery’s ERA of 1.58 is the lowest since Corey Taylor’s NCAA-best 0.31 in 2015. Gingery’s mark is the sixth-lowest in school history in a single season and is eighth in the country this year.
After throwing eight strikeouts against Sam Houston State on June 3, Gingery (107) became the first Red Raider to push past the 100-strikeout threshold in a season since Chad Bettis (102) in 2010. In doing so, Gingery’s 107 punch outs were the most at Tech in a season since Monty Ward rung up a school-record 151 batters in 1998.
COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
