Sophomore pitcher Jackson Sanders was named Southeastern Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 9 following his standout performance against Winthrop, according to an announcement from the league office.
The recognition highlights Sanders’ significant contribution to Auburn’s baseball team and marks the third consecutive week that an Auburn player has received a weekly honor from the conference. This streak follows previous awards given to Ethin Bingaman and Mason McCraine, who were both named SEC Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
Sanders, a left-handed pitcher from Opelika, delivered a career-best outing by pitching seven scoreless innings with ten strikeouts during Saturday’s game against Winthrop. He retired nine consecutive batters between the third and fifth innings, striking out seven during that stretch. His tenth strikeout came in the sixth inning, setting a new personal record.
Throughout his appearance, Sanders demonstrated control by getting ahead in the count against 16 of 22 batters faced and throwing 61 strikes out of 82 pitches. He did not allow a hit after the second inning and faced only one batter over the minimum for his longest outing so far.
This season, Sanders has set new career highs in strikeouts in three of his four starts. He currently holds a 2-0 record with a 3.22 earned run average and has tallied 33 strikeouts compared to four walks over 22.1 innings pitched.
Auburn’s baseball team, ranked No. 5 with a record of 13-2, will conclude its nine-game homestand against UAB on Tuesday before beginning Southeastern Conference play at Missouri this weekend.
