Few pitchers in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference have been in the kind of groove occupied by Hillsdale's Andrew Verbrugge over the past couple weeks. Monday afternoon, he was rewarded for his great play of late.
Verbrugge, a sophomore, was named the G-MAC North Division Pitcher of the Week. The award was announced and chosen by the conference office.
On Friday, Verbrugge notched his second straight win in spectacular fashion, shutting down what was a red-hot University of Findlay offense. In the Oilers' first two games versus the Chargers, they scored 19 runs in 16 innings. Verbrugge stopped that production cold.
He threw a complete game (9 innings) allowing no earned runs and three hits with five strikeouts and just one walk. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, the deepest any Hillsdale pitcher has denied the opposition a hit this season.
Over his last three outings, Verbrugge has pitched 26 innings with 18 strikeouts and three walks allowed. He lowered his season earned run average from 3.66 to 2.64 and has allowed three earned runs across those 26 innings. He has pitched four consecutive complete games and has five such starts this season.