McNeese junior pitcher Eric Nachtsheim was named Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 9 following a strong outing against Houston Christian University.
The recognition comes after Nachtsheim delivered what was described as the best game of his career, helping McNeese secure a 4-2 win in the second game of a doubleheader. He pitched a complete-game three-hitter, allowing only two runs and striking out a personal-best 16 batters. During the game, he faced just three batters above the minimum and retired 12 consecutive hitters at one point, including striking out six in a row across the fifth and sixth innings.
For the season, Nachtsheim has posted a 3-0 record with a 1.17 earned run average and one save. After starting the year in relief, he has moved into the starting rotation for his last two appearances. Over 23 innings pitched this season, he has struck out 39 batters while issuing only six walks and holding opponents to a .157 batting average.
Nachtsheim currently leads the Southland Conference in total strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (15.3), ranking sixth and twelfth nationally in those categories respectively. He is also first in conference wins with three, placing him twentieth in the nation for that statistic, and is among just 31 pitchers nationwide to have thrown a complete game this season.
He is now the second consecutive McNeese player to earn weekly honors from the conference; last week, Matt Stancliff was recognized as hitter of the week.
