ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly honors Tuesday morning, naming junior Mason Lei as the Pitcher of the Week and Sean Cody as the Freshman of the Week after the Flames earned a critical series win over Evansville.
 
"I thought Mason was electric," head coach Sean McDermott remarked "his fast ball command was unbelievable. He started our weekend off right and I'm disappointed we couldn't get him a win. Mason is a leader and a winner, I'm proud that he's on our staff. He's been Mr. Reliable for us and we know that he will throw six or seven innings every weekend and give our team a huge boost."
 
"Over the weekend Mason did a great job getting ahead and dictating counts," pitching coach Mitch Mormann said "He got two strikes on guys pretty rapidly. Mason having two breaking balls paired with an electric fastball can be tough to hit, so he was able to have a career day and it was nice to see him rack up some strike outs."
 
Lei battled in a pitchers duel Friday night in Evansville, not surrendering a run in seven innings on the mound. The junior right hander only allowed four Purple Aces base runners in the contest, and tied his career high for strikeouts with 11. Lei left the game with a no decision and the Flames eventually dropped the game 2-1.
 
This is the third weekly honor for the Freeport, Ill. native this season, also earning Newcomer of the Week (Feb. 24) and Pitcher of the Week honors (Apr. 13). In the MVC this season, Lei ranks ninth in ERA (4.05), second in strikeouts (67) and is tied for third in wins (five).
 
"There has been tremendous growth this year for Sean," McDermott said "I am super happy for him. He has put in a lot of hard work and I'm excited to see him continue to get better. Sean has been very important to our team this year being an elite shortstop with excellent defense. He gives us great at bats and is more mature than his years indicate"
 
Cody played a big role in the Flames securing a series victory at the plate and in the field. At the dish the freshman went five-for-11 with a walk and an RBI across the three game series. Defensively, Cody made a phenomenal grab in the fourth inning of Saturday's game to end an Evansville scoring threat and keep the Flames deficit at one. The Flames would go on to comeback and win the game 2-1.
 
This is the first weekly award for the Oak Lawn, Ill. native. This season Cody has played a pivotal role for the Flames, who are tied for first in the conference, as he leads in games played and started (44) and is the team leader in stolen bases (nine).
 
UP NEXT
 
The Flames are back in action tomorrow at Curtis Granderson Stadium to take on Milwaukee (16-29, 10-8 Horizon) at 6:05 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed on ESPN+ live stats will be online at UICFlames.com.
 
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