Baylor Baseball’s Rigney Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball fourth-year junior right-handed pitcher Will Rigney has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, as announced Monday afternoon by the conference office.
Rigney was brilliant across two outings on the week, throwing five perfect innings and striking out 11 of the 15 batters he faced. He also earned two wins, including the first by a Baylor starter this year.
In just his second appearance since coming back from the third season-ending injury of his collegiate career, Rigney made the midweek start against Rice on Tuesday, March 13, and worked two innings with five strikeouts. He also collected the win as part of BU’s two-hit shutout over the Owls.
Then, he came on in relief on Sunday, March 19, against Kansas State and one-upped himself by going three innings with six punchouts, retiring all nine that he faced in order. After entering in the top of the fourth with the Bears trailing 4-0, it was his energy and dominance against the Wildcats that sparked Baylor’s eight-run sixth-inning comeback and helped lift the Bears to an 8-4 come-from-behind victory in the rubber match.
For his efforts, Rigney was also named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s 13 National Players of the Week.
On the year, the local product from Midway High School boasts an unblemished 0.00 ERA across six innings of work. He has allowed just two hits and surrendered no walks, while 13 of the 18 outs he has recorded have come via a strikeout. Opposing hitters are batting just .100 against Rigney, lowering his career batting average against to .191.
This is Baylor’s first weekly award under head coach Mitch Thompson and BU’s 43rd Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honoree all-time. Rigney also becomes the eighth Bear to be recognized as a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week, and first since Josh Ludy was honored in 2012. For Rigney, this is his first-career award of any kind.
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2023 BAYLOR BASEBALL HONORS
Blake Helton, RHP
- Preseason - D1Baseball Top 200 Starting Pitchers (No. 123)
Will Rigney, RHP
- Preseason - Perfect Game Top 50 Seniors
- March 20 - Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
- March 20 – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week