Senior Brett Sears was named the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Tuesday afternoon.
Sears improved to 6-0 this season with a two-hit complete-game shutout vs. Ohio State on Friday night. The complete-game shutout was the first by a Husker since Will Walsh in the Big Ten Tournament last season. Sears held the Buckeyes to just two hits, the fewest in a complete game by a Nebraska pitcher since Matt Waldron against Michigan State in 2019.
It also marked Sears’ seventh consecutive quality start, which is the longest streak by a Husker hurler since Aaron Marsden recorded seven straight in 2002. The right-hander punched out a career-high 10 batters without issuing a free pass, his fourth outing this season with seven-plus strikeouts and zero walks.
Sears retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced on Friday night after working around a one-out single in the top of the fifth. The Buckeyes nearly had consecutive hits in the fifth frame until Cole Evans' diving, full-extension catch prevented OSU from recording its third hit of the night. He retired the next 14 Buckeyes after the one-out single in the fifth to preserve the complete-game shutout.