Gutierrez Named Big 12 Co-Pitcher Of The Week
May 20, 2002 | Baseball
May 20, 2002
DALLAS, Texas - Junior left-handed pitcher Jonathan Gutierrez was selected as the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon after his impressive seven-inning 9-0 shutout against rival Kansas on Saturday. The win helped the Wildcats to a No. 6 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Wednesday-Sunday at The Ballpark in Arlington.
Along with Gutierrez, Texas Tech junior hurler Dusty Buck was named co-Pitcher of the Week and Oklahoma junior outfielder Jason Fransz was named the conference's Player of the Week in voting by a select panel of media covering Big 12 baseball for games played from May 13-19.
In his first career Big 12 start, Gutierrez allowed just four hits - all singles - in his first career complete game shutout. He struck out a season-best seven batters and allowed just two walks.
Gutierrez is Kansas State's third Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and the fifth Wildcat overall to receive either Player or Pitcher of the Week accolades this season. Senior left-handed pitcher Brock Smith was named the conference's co-Pitcher of the Week on May 13, while junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Walter was named the conference's co-Pitcher of the Week on April 8, senior shortstop Osmar Castillo and sophomore third baseman Ty Soto were honored as Player of the Week on April 1 and April 29, respectively. In all, Gutierrez is the 14th Kansas State player to be named the conference player/pitcher of the week since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997.
Kansas State extended its winning streak to a season-best five games and improved to 28-23 on the season and 13-13 in Big 12 Conference play with its wins this weekend. The Wildcats, who clinched their first winning season since 1997, also set the school record for wins in a Big 12 season and finished in a fifth-place tie with Baylor and Oklahoma State. With the tiebreakers, K-State will enter the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 6 seed where it will play No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to open the tournament.
