Missouri State senior Bryan Young became the sixth Bear to earn a player of the week honor from the Missouri Valley Conference this spring, as the All-America closer picked up MVC Pitcher of the Week recognition from the league office Monday after logging two standout relief outings to highlight MSU’s series sweep of Southern Illinois this past weekend.
Young turned in a pair of dominant outings in Carbondale, earning a save and a victory to help the Bears post their sixth-consecutive Valley series sweep. The right-hander from Kansas City recorded his 32nd save as a Bear by striking out the side to close out Friday’s 7-5 victory over the Salukis. He carried an even bigger load in Sunday’s series final, holding SIU hitless while striking out three hitters over the final 2 2/3 innings of the 11-inning showdown. Young pitched the Bears out of trouble in both the ninth and 10th innings, stranding the potential winning run in scoring position in each frame en route to earning his first mound victory of the season.
A two-time All-MVC selection, Young was named to the NCBWA’s Stopper of the Year Award watch list for the third-consecutive season in late April and enters play this week with an 0.47 ERA and five saves for the year. He has limited the opposition to a .106 batting mark, while striking out 29 hitters and allowing just one earned run on seven hits in 19.1 innings spanning 18 outings.
The award is the third career Valley Pitcher of the Week citation for Young and the 10th weekly MVC honor overall for a Bear this season.
After climbing to No. 13 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll, the Bears (33-14, 14-0 MVC) return to Springfield for their final regular-season home series of the season, opening the three-game MVC set with Indiana State Friday (May 12) at 6:30 p.m.
