DeNato Big Ten pitcher of the week

Senior starting pitcher Joey DeNato won co-Big Ten Pitcher of the week after his outing during the weekend against Texas Tech.

The lefty shares the award with Ohio State’s Ryan Riga. It is the third time DeNato has won the award.

DeNato gave up only three hits and one walk to go along with three strikeouts throughout six shut innings, picking up the win in the Hoosiers 1-0 victory against the Red Raiders in their first game of the season.

He needed just 66 pitches and faced the minimum number of batters in five of the six innings on Friday. The win was his 25th, good for third all time in IU baseball history.

Last season, DeNato went 10-2 with a 2.52 ERA, leading the team in wins en route to the College World Series, where he threw a complete game against Louisville. His 10 wins and 87 strikeouts were both tops in the Big Ten. He also was named second-team all Big Ten.

He first won the award in 2011 during his freshman season and won the award for a second time in 2012 during his sophomore campaign.

The No. 10 Hoosiers (1-3) will take on Washington, Utah and No. 2 Oregon State in Arizona this weekend in the Big Ten Pac 12 challenge.

— Andrew Vailliencourt