Justin Garcia Tabbed Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week

NEW ORLEANS, La. - After three strong pitching performances that helped Little Rock take three of four games last week, Justin Garcia was named the Sun Belt Conference's Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday afternoon by the league office.
 
Garcia pitched in relief in three of Little Rock's four games last week, pitching 8.0 innings while allowing just one run on two hits with 11 strikeouts and just two walks. The week began with a 2.2 inning appearance in the 2-1 win over Louisiana Tech, allowing just one run on one hit with four strikeouts, helping keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
 
In both wins over Troy last weekend, Garcia entered the game in the late innings and picked up the save. In Friday's 3-1 win, Garcia pitched the final 2.0 innings and retired all six batters he faced, striking out four. Sunday, he pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts to notch his fourth save of the season.
 
The Colleyville, Texas native ranks third on the Trojans with 24.2 innings pitched with a 1.82 ERA. Garcia leads the team in strikeouts with 42 as his strikeout per nine innings ratio of 15.32 ranks eighth nationally. He has surrendered just 16 hits on the season, averaging 0.6 hits per inning, with just five earned runs.
 
Garcia becomes the first Trojan to earn Sun Belt weekly honors this season and the first to garner Pitcher of the Week accolades since Cory Malcom on February 28, 2017.
 
Garcia and the Trojans return to the field this weekend for the conference home-opener to play UT Arlington in a three-game series, starting on Friday at Gary Hogan Field. Game one is slated to get underway at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. Saturday start and a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
 
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