MANHATTAN — The Kansas State record holder for wins and saves by a freshman, relief pitcher Jake Matthys has been named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team, Collegiate Baseball announced Wednesday.
Matthys is the sixth Wildcats player to earn Freshman All-America honors since 2006 and the first pitcher honored since James Allen in 2009. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Matthys was one of eight players from the conference to be named to the team.
A product of Spring Lake Park, Minn., Matthys enters the Corvallis Super Regional with an 8-1 record and a 1.96 ERA to go along with nine saves. Aside from the school freshman records, the right-hander has the most wins by a K-State relief pitcher in the Big 12 era and currently ranks eighth in school history in single-season ERA. Matthys has continually performed well under pressure, allowing just three of his 31 inherited runners to score and retiring 24 of his 32 first batters faced.
Matthys picked up a pair of saves last week to help the Wildcats earn their first-ever regional title. He tossed 2 no-hit innings with two strikeouts against Bryant before pitching the final two scoreless frames in the regional championship against Arkansas. The appearance against the Razorbacks was his 32nd of the year, which broke the school record for relief outings.
Kansas State travels to Corvallis, Ore., to take on Oregon State in a best-of-three series for the right to advance to the College World Series. The Super Regional begins with a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, while Game 2 is slated for 9 p.m. on Sunday. If necessary, Game 3 will be played at 6 p.m. on Monday. All three games will be shown on ESPNU and can be heard on both the K-State Sports Network and www.kstatesports.com