DALLAS --- Tusculum University's Charles Hall has been named the NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Week as selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Hall, a senior from Dumfries, Virginia, becomes the second Tusculum student-athlete to garner NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week honors, joining former TU All-American Placido Torres who earned the award in 2016.
Hall broke the NCAA Division II single-game record with 22 strikeouts as he pitched a 9-inning complete game in TU's 10-1 South Atlantic Conference win over Queens University of Charlotte last Friday. He broke the D-II national mark previously held by five other pitchers, with the most recent coming on April 1, 1999, when Nate Kosoc of Saint Rose fanned 21 batters against NJIT. Hall's 22-strikeout effort ranks seventh for all NCAA divisions.
Hall achieved the record feat on 123 pitches as he struck out every Royals batter at least once including eight of the nine Queens' hitters at least two times each. Hall recorded two strikeouts in every inning and fanned the side four times including the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. Sixteen were swinging strikeouts while six came looking. Hall (4-0, 1.58 ERA) leads the nation with his 88 strikeouts this year and has struck out 10 or more batters in six consecutive starts.
Tusculum (19-10, 7-2 SAC) has won four straight and opens a three-game league series at Carson-Newman University on Friday at 2 p.m.