LSU freshman pitcher Alex Lange said he just wanted to “throw strikes” during his collegiate debut against Kansas on Saturday.
The Southeastern Conference league office felt Lange did more than that.
Lange was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his opening-weekend start against the Jayhawks, the league announced Monday.
The hard-throwing right-handed pitcher — whose first three pitches clocked at 95, 94 and 93 mph — threw five scoreless innings in the Tigers’ 8-5 victory against Kansas on Saturday. Lange (1-0) also struck out seven batters against one walk en route to his first-career victory.
Lange, a former five-time All-State selection out of Missouri, gave up just two hits against 18 batters on Saturday. Lange’s threw 71 pitches against the Jayhawks with 45 called for strikes.
In 2014, Lange was named the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year after he went 12-0 with a 0.82 ERA during his senior season at Lee’s Summit West High. He also struck out 112 batters in 68.1 innings of work.