Stephanie Becker Named SEC Softball Pitcher of the Week

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State junior left-handed pitcher Stephanie Becker was named Southeastern Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday. The southpaw is the eighth pitcher in school history to attain the weekly honor and the first to pick up the nod since Stephanie Comeaux did so on March 7, 2006.

"Stephanie is a workhorse with a strong mental game," Head Coach Vann Stuedeman said. "She is fun to coach and fun to watch perform. The pitching staff was great this weekend with Stephanie at the helm."

Becker was the only SEC pitcher to pick up three conference victories this past week, going a perfect 3-0 against 2011 Super Regional squad Kentucky for Mississippi State's first series sweep vs. UK in over four years (2008). The Chicago native finished the weekend with a 2.15 ERA and an impressive 15-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In Friday's 4-3 series opener against the Wildcats, the lefty picked up her 14th win of the season, doubling her win total from a year ago. Becker struck out nine and walked none in her team-best 11th complete game of the 2012 campaign. Her nine strikeouts marked the second-highest output of the year from the MSU ace.

The junior came back a day later in Saturday's nationally-televised ESPNU contest, entering a tie game in the top of the seventh. Becker shut down UK by throwing two hitless innings en route to the eighth-inning walk-off win. The lefty's 15th win of the season was the 25th of her career, placing her 10th in the school record books at State.

On Sunday, Becker picked up her third win in as many days with 4.0 innings of work. The circle master gave the Bulldogs their sixth-straight SEC win, the longest such streak in 11 years (March 2001). With the junior's three wins this weekend, the Bulldogs earned a berth in the SEC Tournament and guaranteed a winning regular-season record, qualifying them for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Bulldog fans can watch their reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week Tuesday at 6 p.m., as Starkville's Team hosts 2011 NCAA Tournament squad Memphis at the MSU Softball Stadium. For more information on Becker and her teammates, follow the softball program on Twitter at @MStateSB as well as Facebook at Facebook.com/MStateSB.

Mississippi State's 2012 SEC Weekly Honors
April 23, 2012 - Stephanie Becker, SEC Pitcher of the Week
April 16, 2012 - Ka'ili Smith, SEC Player of the Week
March 5, 2012 - Jessica Cooley, SEC Player of the Week

Mississippi State's SEC Softball Pitchers of the Week
April 23, 2012 - Stephanie Becker
March 7, 2006 - Stephanie Comeaux
May 11, 2004 - Kelli Miller
Feb. 24, 2003 - Melissa Massey
Feb. 12, 2002 - Kasey Whitehead
April 2, 2001 - Jennifer Pursell
April 6, 1999 - Autumn Anderson
April 29, 1997 - Alicia Judd