BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – After shutting down one of the hottest teams in the Atlantic Region, West Liberty’s Justin Pennybacker was named Tuesday as the Mountain East Conference Pitcher of the Week.
The junior righthander from Follansbee, W.Va. made West Liberty's first MEC win of the season a big one with a masterful two-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over regionally-ranked Glenville State on Sunday afternoon at Kovalick Field.
The Pioneers had won 12 of their first 14 games and came into the weekend ranked No. 7 in the Atlantic Region but never got a runner past second base against Pennybacker. The WLU veteran gave up just two harmless singles to a Glenville team with six starters hitting over .300 and needed fewer than 90 pitches to complete the shutout, striking out 5 and walking just one.
It was Pennybacker’s second strong outing of the week against a regionally-ranked foe. He hurled two scoreless innings of relief on Wednesday in a 2-0 road loss at No. 8-ranked California (Pa.).
The Hilltoppers hit the road on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Davis & Elkins.