Kade Brown releases a pitch at John Smith Field at Sacramento State. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Sacramento State freshman closer Kade Brown was named the Western Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday after helping the Hornets to their second straight unbeaten weekend with a pair of clutch performances.

Brown becomes the first Hornet to win a weekly award from the conference office since Martin Vincelli-Simard was named the league’s hitter of the week on May 16, 2022, and the first pitcher since Colin Hunter picked up the first award of the 2022 campaign on Feb. 21 of that season.

Brown played a huge role in his team’s weekend sweep in Southern California, locking down a pair of saves against Pac-12 opponent USC as part of a 3-0 weekend that also included a win over Santa Clara. In two appearances, Brown did not allow a hit or a run over 3.1 innings of work, finishing with a walk and four strikeouts. 

After throwing a perfect ninth inning in Sacramento State’s 6-3 win over the Trojans on Friday (April 19), Brown got the final seven outs for the save in Sunday’s (April 21) finale, coming in and striking out the first batter he faced to strand a runner in the seventh, and then leaving the tying run at third base in the bottom of the ninth, finishing off USC with two of his three strikeouts on the day.

The saves were the sixth and seventh of the year for Brown, who has now posted the most saves by a Hornet freshman since Sutter McLoughlin set the school single-season record with 17 in 2013.

For the year, Brown is 2-2 with a 2.81 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP over 17 appearances, striking out a team-high 44 hitters and holding opponents to a .165 average in 32 innings of work. Over his last four appearances (7.0 innings), Brown has allowed only one run on four hits, walking three and striking out 10.

Winners of eight of its last 10 contests, Sacramento State (21-21, 9-9 WAC) returns to the diamond for a three-game WAC series against Tarleton State (22-18, 12-9 WAC) at John Smith Field this weekend — the first home games for the Hornets since April 7.

The series opener against the Texans is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday (April 26), followed by a 1 p.m. start on Saturday (April 27) and a 10 a.m. finale on Sunday (April 28).

 Kade Brown was named the Western Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics