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Mark Tourangeau

BUFFALO, NY - The awards are starting to roll in for the University at Buffalo baseball team, who are on an unprecendented stretch since the program was reinstated in 2000, winning nine of its last 12 games.

This week, sophomore pitcher Mark Tourangeau (Oakville, Ontario/Queen Elizabeth Park) earned the Mid-American Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week, the second week in a row that a UB player was honored, the conference office announced on Monday.

The seventh Bulls' pitcher to earn the MAC Pitcher of the Week nod, Tourangeau (1-1, 5.02 ERA) pitched a three-hit seven-inning gem, striking out eight in the second game of Buffalo's doubleheader sweep of Navy on Saturday, winning 2-0. It was the sophomore's first career shutout and only the seventh since the UB program was reinstated after a 13-year absence.

In his first start of the year after missing a start due to an ankle injury, the former 40th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners gave up five walks and five runs in 1 1/3 innings in an 8-5 loss to Georgia Southern. The righthander has rebounded in his last two starts to pitch 13 innings, allowing three earned runs and eight hits while striking out 13.

Tourangeau, who crossed the 50-career strikeout mark in the Navy game, now has a 5-6 career record and has allowed three or fewer runs in nine of his 12 career starts. He currently is tied for the Bulls' team lead with 16 strikeouts.

Tourangeau's start was part of back-to-back shutouts as the Bulls (9-10 overall) got a combined 8-0 shutout on Sunday from senior Chris McGraw (Summerville, SC/Stratford/Coffeyville CC) and junior Sean McWilliams (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua). It was the first time since 1980 that UB pitchers tossed consecutive shutouts, as the 32-13 Bill Monkarsh-led squad threw goose eggs against Brockport State, 9-0, and Fredonia State, 4-0.

Sophomore catcher Dan Quinn (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) earned the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week award last week, the first time a UB player had earned the honor since joining the MAC in 2001. McWilliams was the last Bull to have earned the Pitcher of the Week award, having been named Pitcher of the Week on March 8, 2004.

The Bulls will look to keep the accolades coming as they open their MAC schedule with a three-game set at Akron that starts at Lee Jackson Field on Friday at 3:00 pm.