For junior right-hander Andy Heimbach, receiving Pitcher of the Week honors has become a common occurrence throughout the 1999 season.
Once again, the Wheelersburg, Ohio native has swept the weekly awards as he was named the American Mideast Conference, NAIA Great Lakes Region, National Christian College Athletic Association, and NAIA National Pitcher of the Week for his efforts during the week of April 26-May 2.
Heimbach has won the AMC honor four of the last five weeks, has claimed the NAIA Great Lakes Region award three times this season, and has been the NCCAA award recipient five times this year. He also became the first player in MVNC history to be an NAIA National Player or Pitcher of the Week twice - let alone two times in the same season.
For the week, the former Wheelersburg High School star posted a 2-0 record with a 0.64 earned run average. In 14 innings of work, Heimbach struck out 26 batters and allowed just three walks, three hits, and one earned run.
Against Malone College, Heimbach needed just 76 pitches to toss the 13th perfect game in NAIA history and the first-ever for the Cougars as he struck out 11 batters. He also became the all-time shutout leader in all of college baseball with 16 as he posted his school-record sixth shutout of the season.
Heimbach finished the week with a three-hitter in an 8-1 victory over Geneva (PA) College. He allowed three walks and one earned run while striking out a career-high 15 batters. It was the second highest single-game strikeout total trailing just the 18-strikeout performance by Tim Belcher versus Kenyon College in 1983.
Heimbach, who is now 10-1 on the season with a 0.70 ERA, moved into second place on the MVNC career strikeout list with 238. He needs just 15 more strikeouts to break both the single-season record (121) and the career record (252).
The Cougars are currently 29-12 overall and will be the second seed at the AMC Tournament that starts on Wednesday. MVNC will begin play against fifth-seeded Tiffin University at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday at Ohio Wesleyan University.
