Bednar Named SEC Newcomer Of The Week

Photo by: Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Bednar Named SEC Newcomer Of The Week

May 24, 2021 | Baseball

Bednar stifled Alabama over a career-high eight shutout innings to earn his sixth SEC win of the season

By: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – For the seventh time in 2021, the No. 3 Mississippi State baseball program earned a weekly award from the Southeastern Conference office, as second-year freshman Will Bednar was named the SEC Newcomer of the Week on Monday (May 24).

The seven awards are the most in a single season for MSU, breaking a tie with the 2019 team that won six regular season weekly conference awards.

The Newcomer of the Week award was added for the 2021 season and is awarded weekly to the top performer in the SEC that was a freshman during the shortened 2020 season.

At Alabama, Bednar threw a career high 112 pitches in a career-best eight complete innings of work to earn his sixth win of the season – all coming in SEC play. In eight innings, Bednar allowed multiple base runners in just one inning and only one baserunner made it to third base in the game.

He posted four perfect innings, allowed one base runner in three frames and issued a walk and a single in the eighth, before ending his 11th start with a strikeout looking. He totaled 11 strikeouts to mark his fourth double-digit strikeout game of 2021 – all in SEC play – and the second-most in a game during his career.

Bednar bookended SEC play with combined shutouts on the road, with his first SEC start a 3-0 combined shutout at then-No. 10 LSU and his last regular season start at 7-0 combined shutout at Alabama.

On the season, the Valencia, Pennsylvania, native piled up 97 strikeouts in 13 appearances with 11 starts. Over 62 innings of work, he put together a 2.90 ERA, .217 batting average against and allowed just 49 hits and 22 runs. He looks to become the 25th Diamond Dawg to eclipse the 100-strikeout mark in a season as the postseason begins.

Bednar joins Kamren James and Landon Sims as MSU student-athletes to earn SEC Newcomer of the Week, while Sims and Christian MacLeod (twice) have each earned SEC Pitcher of the Week. True freshman Jackson Fristoe also earned Freshman of the Week in 2021.