April 29, 2008

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - One day after being named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week, University of Miami freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Hernandez was named Pro-Line Athletic National Pitcher of the Week released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Tuesday.

A native of Miami, Fla., Hernandez matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts in a career-long eight innings to lead No. 1 Miami to a series-opening 1-0 shutout of No. 16 Virginia last Friday. The rookie southpaw struck out eight of the first 11 batters he faced and retired 11 of the final 13 batters, giving up only two hits and one walk. Hernandez, the first Hurricane to earn the league's weekly pitching honor this season, improved to 7-0 on the season with a 2.77 ERA.

With this week's honor, Hernandez automatically is named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season. Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division 1 college teams. This is the fourth year Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Web site at: www.prolineathletic.com.

The Hurricanes step out of conference action this weekend, entertaining Saint Mary's (Calif.) for three games at Mark Light Field.