OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Sophomores Andreas Alvarez and Jake Marciano have been named semifinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award, the College Baseball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
The Auburn duo, which was previously named to the Baseball American Midseason Pitcher of the Year watch list, are two of 43 pitchers from across the country to be recognized by the foundation, including six from the Southeastern Conference.
After beginning the season as the midweek starter, Alvarez has started the opener in each of the last three series and ranks fourth in the league with a 1.96 ERA. He has struck out 63 and walked 17 in 46.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .218 average against.
In his last 13 appearances dating back to the end of last season, Alvarez is 8-2 with a 1.45 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched. Earlier this season, he earned a win in six straight starts from Mar. 3-Apr. 10 and didn’t allow an earned run in five-plus outings and 27.2 innings pitched from Feb. 25-Apr. 2.
Marciano has been a key cog in Auburn’s rotation since week one and lead the conference in numerous categories including strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.00), WHIP (0.79) and walks allowed per 9.0 innings (1.11) while also ranking top five in ERA (1.91), innings pitched (56.2) and strikeouts (77).
A first-year member of the Tigers from Bayville, New Jersey, Marciano wasted no time in establishing himself as he struck out a career-high 12 batters in the season opener, the most by an Auburn pitcher since 2019. Five of his first 10 starts have been quality outings of 6.0 or more innings and three earned runs or less, and three of his first four SEC starts were 7.0 or more innings and one run or less.
Alvarez and Marciano help anchor an Auburn pitching staff that leads the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.29), WHIP (1.13) and walks allowed per 9.0 innings (2.59) while ranking second in shutouts (six) and third in ERA (3.27).
The duo and No. 6 Auburn (28-12, 10-8 SEC) return to Plainsman Park to host No. 9 Oklahoma (28-12, 10-8 SEC) in its second to last home series Friday through Sunday.