Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina junior right-handed pitcher
Zebby Matthews was today named the Southern Conference's Pitcher of the Month for games played in May.
The monthly award is the first for a Catamount this season and the second for Matthews in his WCU career as he collected pitcher of the month accolades in February 2021. It's the second-consecutive season that a Catamount hurler earned top monthly honors in May as
Jack Snyder collected Pitcher of the Month plaudits in the final month of last season.
The monthly awards from the SoCon office are chosen from nominations submitted by the sports information or media relations personnel at each member institution.
Moving to the bullpen in the latter half of the season, Matthews posted a 3-0 record with one save and a 0.75 ERA in May. The Cullowhee, N.C., native struck out 46 batters with just seven walks in 36.0 innings pitched over seven monthly relief appearances, recording five-or-more strikeouts in each appearance. He limited opponents to a .209 batting average against on just 28 base hits with just eight going for extra bases.
Two of the wins scored by Matthews came in extra-inning WCU victories. He opened the month by tossing six and two-thirds innings with a month-high nine strikeouts in the series-clinching victory at VMI on May 1 before striking out seven over five innings in the 10-9, 11-inning sweep-clinching victory over second-place Mercer on May 8. He also collected a three-inning save against Mercer on May 7 as WCU swept the Bears in Cullowhee. Against regular-season champion Wofford, Matthews fanned eight over five and two-thirds innings in the 2-2 tie in the series finale.
Matthews also earned the victory over VMI in the SoCon Baseball Tournament presented by Holston Gases, striking out seven over six and a third inning of two-hit, one-run relief at Fluor Field.
On the year, Matthews led the Southern Conference with 122 combined strikeouts – the only player in the conference to eclipse the century mark in 2022. He ranked 13th nationally in strikeouts entering this weekend's Super Regional play. He also paced the league with 46 strikeouts looking. Matthews ranked 29th in the NCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 5.81 average (122 Ks, 21 BBs) and was 49th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.48 average).
Western Carolina also nominated sophomore shortstop
Pascanel Ferreras for the SoCon's player honor in May. The Stone Mountain, Ga., was twice named Player of the Week in the month, one of just two players in the league to collect multiple honors and the only player to receive recognition in back-to-back weeks. A first-team All-SoCon selection, Ferreras batted .500 (28-of-56) with 16 of his 28 hits going for extra bases – 10 doubles, a triple, and five home runs for a .982 slugging percentage in the month as he scored 17 runs and drove in 20 in May.
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