Martin Methodist baseball standout Logan Underhill has been named NAIA National Baseball Pitcher of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday afternoon.
Underhill, a sophomore right hander from McMinnville, was selected based on his performances from March 20–26 and was chosen first from his conference and then nationwide.
“I was pretty happy when they named me pitcher of the week for the conference on Monday,” said Underhill. “But Tuesday, when I learned I was national pitcher of the week, I was shocked. I’m thankful and it reinforces my belief to keep working hard in practice. No. 1 Faulkner had hit me pretty hard and I took a 1-0 loss in another nine-inning game. I know my mom, dad and family are proud, and I am as well.”
Underhill turned in a career-best performance as the Red Hawks claimed a win over No. 18 Middle Georgia State last Friday at the East Campus.
Underhill struck out 12 and allowed just one unearned run in 8.2 innings. The sophomore finished one out shy of a complete game shutout, but was lifted in the ninth after a baserunner reached via error and later came around to score against reliever Zach Rowe.
Prior to the masterful game, Underhill’s career-high in strikeouts was six.
Underhill was a member of the Warren County High School Pioneers until graduating in 2014 and committed to Jackson State Community College. During his final year with the Pioneers, Underhill hit .467 at the plate with one home run, 24 RBIs, 35 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
In his first year of pitching extensively, Underhill amassed a 5-2 record and 2.48 ERA. Underhill was the winning pitcher in Warren County’s 8-3 win over Cookeville in the District 6-AAA championship game.
“Logan was a great kid and worked really hard while he was in high school,” said his WCHS baseball coach Adam Childs. “He played mostly short stop for us, but did pitch his senior year. From what I understand when he got to college he threw really well and they converted him to pitcher only. We always knew he had great potential and it’s great to see him be successful at the college level.”
The award is the first of Underhill’s career and he becomes the first Red Hawk in the DakStats era (2004-present) to achieve a national Pitcher of the Week award.