SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior right-hander Ethan Lay was named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon following a stellar outing against Pacific on Sunday to help Sacramento State clinch its second straight series this season.
It is the first career honor from the league office for Lay and the second for a Hornet pitcher this year after Evan Gibbons picked up the award on Feb. 24. The Hornets have now had two pitchers win weekly honors from the conference in the same season for the first time since 2021 when Travis Adams (March 8 and April 26) and Scott Randall (March 29) combined for three awards that year.
The Colusa, Calif., native was nearly perfect on the mound in his start against the Tigers in the series finale, throwing seven shutout innings while allowing one hit without a walk and striking out a collegiate high 11 batters in a no-decision that eventually ended with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th.
Making his third start of the season, Lay's 11 strikeouts bested his teammate Tyler Stewart's 10 strikeouts on Saturday night in Stockton, Calif., for the most by a Hornet pitcher this year and dethroned Stewart's total for the most by a Sacramento State hurler since Adams punched out 13 Bears at Northern Colorado on April 14, 2021.
At one point on Sunday, Lay retired 12 consecutive batters from the third to the sixth innings, allowing only three baserunners and stranding two of those in scoring position in a scoreless contest.
Over his last two starts, Lay has allowed only one run on five hits over 13 innings of work, walking one and striking out 14, dropping his season ERA from 10.80 down to just 2.76 in that span. Only one of those five hits allowed has gone for extra bases as the right-handler has limited opponents to a .114 (5-for-44) average.
Sacramento State continues a run of five games in five days with a pair of midweek contests. The Hornets host Nevada on Monday (March 10) night at 6 p.m., before heading down Highway 99 to take on Fresno State on Tuesday (March 11), also at 6 p.m.
