COLUMBIA, Mo. - Freshman LHP Paige Lowary (Dallas Center, Iowa) was named SEC Pitcher of the Week as announced by the conference Feb. 23. Lowary picked up three wins in three days at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., including two victories over ranked opponents to improve her season record to 5-0. Mizzou finished 4-1 against a talented field and improved to 8-2 overall.
"I'm really honored to win this award, it means a lot," Lowary said. "I'm excited about it, and I'd like to thank my teammates and coaches for putting us in a position to win like they did. We had a great weekend and we're all really excited about getting back out there and keeping it going."
The freshman hurler allowed only three earned runs and fanned 15 batters in 14.2 innings in the circle at the tournament. Lowary limited Long Beach State to just two hits and struck out seven to open her weekend with a win.
She followed that performance by tossing a career-high 6.2 innings against No. 25 Texas less than 24 hours later. The Longhorns were held scoreless through six innings before plating two runs in the seventh frame.
Lowary got the nod again for Mizzou's final game at the Mary Nutter Classic that pitted the Tigers against No. 13 Arizona. She threw four solid innings, surrendering two hits and no earned runs.
"I'm really pleased for Paige, she was outstanding this weekend, very consistent and gave us everything we could ask for," head coach Ehren Earleywine said. "Paige has so much natural ability. She's fun to watch, and as she continues to mature and learn the art of pitching at this level, there's so much more she can achieve."
The award is the first SEC honor for Lowary and the first for Mizzou this season. The last time the Tigers received an SEC Pitcher of the Week honor was April 28 when current sophomore Tori Finucane (Germantown, M.D.) earned the distinction. Finucane eventually earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
Lowary and the Tigers are back in action Feb. 27-March 1 at the Citrus Classic in Kissimmee, Fla. Mizzou takes on Notre Dame, Penn State, Minnesota, James Madison and Maryland over the three-day stretch.
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