Hurford is the second Malone right-handed hurler to earn conference pitcher of the week honors on the heels of freshman Eric Mullet.
The Pioneers had a really strong showing in Arizona the past week with a 6-1 record the past seven days. Hurford was the starting pitcher in two of those wins vs. Dakota Wesleyan and Oklahoma Panhandle State and he did it shutdown form.
Combined, he had a near-perfect 0.64 ERA in 14 innings pitched, going seven frames in each winning decision.
Hurford fanned 12 Dakota Wesleyan hitters as part of seven scoreless innings while scattering six hits and walking one. His strikeout total was just the seventh in conference history that 12 was recorded.
The single-game record is 18 back in 2015 by former Arizona Diamondbacks’ farmhand Matt Pobereyko (Kentucky Wesleyan). In a 1-0 final, Hurford received the one run of support he needed to get the shutout win.
Versus Oklahoma Panhandle State, he had seven more strikeouts and yielded just one run on five hits in a 9-1 Pioneers’ victory. Malone also gave head coach Tom Crank his 400th career victory during the program’s successful Spring Break trip.
In three games, Hurford is 2-0 with 0.59 ERA. His K/9 and K/BB ratios are something to monitor this spring with impressive figures of 11.74 and 1.17 so far.