March 28, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford sophomore pitcher Lex Rutledge was named the Southern Conference's Pitcher of the Week when the league released its weekly baseball awards on Monday.

This marks the second week in a row a Samford player has been honored by the league, as Saxon Butler was named the SoCon's Player of the Week last week.

Rutledge pitched seven strong innings, allowing no runs on just two hits to lead Samford to an 11-0 win at league-leading Elon on Saturday. Rutledge, a native of Tupelo, Miss., struck out a career-high 13 batters in the win, while walking just three hitters.

Rutledge raised his SoCon-leading strikeout total to 52 on the season while becoming the second conference pitcher to earn his fifth victory.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, March 29, when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.

At Tuesday night's game, Samford athletics, SGA and Greek Life is sponsoring a Crawfish Boil from 5-7 p.m., and the athletics department will also be raising money for Susan G. Komen For The Cure for breast cancer research. For more information, contact Hollie Huey at hhuey@samford.edu or 205-726-4344 by Tuesday at noon.