Senior Austin Luther named NCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week for second time this season

| NCAC Players of the Week – May 7 |

SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg senior Austin Luther (Hughesville, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 29 to May 5.

This marks Luther's second NCAC Pitcher of the Week honor this season, joining the one he earned on March 12, and the fourth of his career. He also earned the accolade twice during his sophomore season in 2022.

The latest recognition comes after he earned the win on the mound with an impressive outing in Wittenberg's 3-0 win at Kenyon on Saturday as the Tigers clinched a share of the NCAC regular-season championship. He pitched 8.2 scoreless innings and ceded just six hits and one walk while tallying nine strikeouts.

That victory capped a two-game sweep of Kenyon that clinched Wittenberg's first-ever NCAC regular-season championship and the program's first conference title since winning the Ohio Athletic Conference in 1968.

Both Wittenberg and Denison posted a 13-3 record in league play this season to finish as conference co-champions. The Tigers enter this week's NCAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed based on league tiebreakers.

Luther closed the regular season with a 4-2 record over 62.2 innings spanning 11 starts, posting a 3.45 ERA and 44 strikeouts. He ranks fourth in the NCAC in ERA and is tied for eighth in strikeouts.

In 38 career appearances, including 27 starts, at Wittenberg, Luther is 14-6 with 149 strikeouts, which is two shy of joining the program's all-time top-10 list in that category.

Wittenberg (24-15 overall) returns to action on Thursday, opening the four-team, double-elimination NCAC Tournament against fourth-seeded Kenyon (21-15 overall) at 12 p.m. at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. Both teams are seeking their first-ever NCAC Tournament titles. Second-seeded Denison and third-seeded DePauw will face off on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.