April 4, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt was named National Co-Pitcher of the Month for March as announced by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Monday. Schmidt won four games last month and struck out 46 batters in 37.0 innings pitched with a 2.19 ERA.

Schmidt opened the month pitching eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and just five hits allowed in an 8-1 victory over Clemson. He followed that up with 7.1 scoreless innings with just four hits allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts in a 9-0 victory over Charleston Southern. A week later as SEC play opened up, Schmidt struck out a career-high 11 batters in a 10-6 victory over Arkansas. His fourth win of the month would come at Ole Miss as he allowed just one run on nine hits in 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts in the 5-1 victory in Oxford.

For the season, Schmidt is 6-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He has allowed 12 runs, 10 earned, on 39 hits in 50.0 innings with seven walks and 60 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .214 against him. Schmidt is tied for the SEC lead in strikeouts, second in innings pitched, tied for second in wins, fifth in ERA and 12th in opponents batting average.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport.