University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Rajcic Named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week
May 16, 2022 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ UCLA sophomore right-hander Max Rajcic has been selected as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the second time this month, it was announced on Monday by the league office.
Rajcic had his best outing as a Bruin last Friday night to lead UCLA to a 4-0 win over Washington State, pitching the first eight innings of a combined one-hitter while striking out a career-high 14 batters.
With the selection, Rajcic becomes the 10th Bruin to pick up multiple Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in a single season since the league moved to its current format in 1999. He had previously picked up the honor after fanning 11 and taking a one-hitter into the ninth against Arizona State on Apr. 29.
Rajcic's 14 strikeouts are tied for the most of any Bruin in a single game over the last 10 seasons (last: Ryan Garcia vs. Utah on Apr. 26, 2019). He is the first Bruin pitcher coached by John Savage to record 14+ strikeouts in a game without issuing a walk.
The only damage against Rajcic came on a two-out roller up the middle in the first inning. The Fullerton, Calif. native responded by retiring the next 14 batters in a row, including a streak of five consecutive swinging strikeouts. Only one batter reached base the rest of the night for WSU, and it came on a strikeout as a Rajcic curveball produced a called strike three but reached the backstop.
For the season, Rajcic is 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA and a team-high 83 strikeouts over 73 innings. Over his last seven starts, he has produced a 59-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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Multiple Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week Selections, Single Season
- Rob Henkel, 2000
- Tyson Brummett, 2007
- Tim Murphy, 2008
- Trevor Bauer, 2009 & 2011
- Adam Plutko, 2012
- Griffin Canning, 2017
- Ryan Garcia, 2019
- Jack Ralston, 2019
- Zach Pettway, 2020
- Max Rajcic, 2022
