K-State freshman Griffin Hassall was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week following his career-long outing in picking up the victory over No. 19 TCU Thursday, the conference office announced Monday.
Hassall, a native of Ontario, Canada, stifled the Horned Frogs’ offense, as he yielded one run while scattering three hits with five strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings of work. Hassall retired nine straight hitters during a stretch where he sat down 16 of 17 TCU batters overall.
Hassall has earned a win in back-to-back starts, both against top-25 teams, for the first wins of his career. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has now made six straight series-opening starts and boasts a 2.33 ERA while opponents are hitting just .169 against him in his initial campaign.
Joining Jordan Wicks, Hassall is the second straight K-State freshman starting pitcher to take home Newcomer of the Week honors.
After taking two of three games from TCU, K-State has now claimed two straight Big 12 series victories against top-25 teams. The Wildcats (19-22, 4-7 Big 12) have won four of their last five games and six of their last eight overall.
