BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sophomore right-hander Trace Bright has been named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Bright is Auburn's first SEC Pitcher of the Week since Jack Owen earned the recognition in week four of the 2019 season.
"For him to give us six scoreless innings there with 20 mile-per-hour winds blowing straight out, for him to pitch that way in that ballpark was impressive and even more impressive in person," head coach Butch Thompson said of Bright's outing.
The Montgomery native made a pair of starts last week, including his first weekend start as an Auburn Tiger, and went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in 10.0 innings. He allowed five hits, holding opponents to a .147 average against, and issued two walks with eight strikeouts.
After earning the win and striking out a career high seven batters in 4.0 innings against Alabama A&M Tuesday, Bright drew the Sunday start against Texas A&M in Round Rock, Texas, and turned in the best outing of his Auburn career.
Texas A&M had scored 20 runs on 21 hits in the previous two games of the Round Rock Classic, but Bright held the Aggies to just three hits in a career high 6.0 scoreless innings, marking Auburn's first quality start of the season and the first of his career. He faced one batter over the minimum through four innings before working around a pair of base runners in the fifth and another in the sixth to end his outing.
Entering week three of the season, Bright is tied for the league lead in wins (two) and ranks tied for seventh in innings (11.0) and tied for ninth in ERA (0.90).
Bright and the Tigers continue the team's busy stretch to start the season by hosting Jacksonville State Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.
