Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State sophomore Payton Tolle was selected as the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week and junior Brock Rodden was chosen for the conference's Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced Monday. This is the fifth weekly honor of the season for Tolle and his first selection as Pitcher of the Week. He was previously named Player of the Week on March 6 and April 24. Rodden's Honor Roll selection is his first this season after earning three such awards in 2022.
Tolle became the first Shocker pitcher since Charlie Lowell in 2011 to win nine games in a season, picking up the victory in Saturday's 9-2 win over South Florida. The southpaw went 7.0 innings, struck out 10, walked two, and allowed just four hits and two runs. It's the eighth quality start in 13 tries this season for Tolle, and his fourth with 10 or more strikeouts. He has walked more than two batters just once in a game this season.
The two-way superstar leads the conference in wins and innings pitched with 78.2 He ranks third in the conference with 88 strikeouts, fourth with a 3.78 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .228 against him. In addition to his excellent start, Tolle homered in all three games of the South Florida series, giving him 13 for the season to go along with a .321 batting average and 47 RBI.
Rodden torched Bulls pitching over the weekend, recording three mult-hit games to help the Shockers to a series win. After a 3-for-5 performance with a home run in the series opener, Rodden delivered a career-high four hits in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, including two doubles and another homer. He capped off the series with two more hits in the nightcap, adding a stolen base and three runs scored. All told in the series, the electrifying second baseman drove in seven runs and scored five.
Rodden leads the circuit with a .456 on-base percentage and 60 RBI, ranks second with a .680 slugging percentage and 53 runs scored, and is fifth in the conference with a .355 batting average.
The Shockers wrap up the regular season with three games at UCF. First pitch from Orlando in Thursday's series opener is set for 5:00 pm.