By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech hurler Peyton Calitri was recognized as the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and third time in his career, as announced by the league Monday afternoon.

Calitri put the Golden Eagles on his back in Tech's second contest with Morehead State on Saturday and delivered one of the most dominant outings of his career, tossing eight shutout innings against one of the nation's top offenses.

The senior scattered three hits and a walk while striking out a whopping 10 Eagle batters on his way to his fifth victory of the season. The right-hander allowed just three singles in the contest, and only one batter to reach second base under his watch.

The Collierville, Tenn. native picked up his first league honor of the season on Feb. 19 after turning in a brilliant first start of the year in a 5-1 win over Bellarmine. Calitri covered seven innings with just one, unearned run, four hits, and a walk allowed. 

The Tech ace earned his first career OVC Pitcher of the Week honor during the 2022 campaign after tallying 10.0 innings of work in a complete game and 4-2 win at ETSU. It marked the third-longest outing by a Golden Eagle hurler in program history. Calitri fanned a career-high 11 batters in the contest without issuing a single walk as well.

Calitri currently ranks second nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio, boasting a mark of 13.75. He has racked up 55 punch-outs in 53.0 innings on the hill this season while yielding just four free passes.

Tech hits the road for five straight contests, starting with a midweek match-up against in-state rival Lipscomb. The tilt will take place in Nashville at 6:00 p.m. CT Tuesday evening.

Photo by Jim Dillon