KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Talladega College sophomore pitcher Samuel Guadamuz was named the NAIA Pitcher of the Week on April 2, one day after earning the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week. He is the first NAIA Pitcher of the Week from a GCAC team in 15 years and the first pitcher from a historical black college and university (HBCU) to receive the honor since 2007.
Guadamuz pitched a complete-game, seven-inning shutout win over No. 10 Faulkner University on March 28. He struck out 11 of 24 batters faced, while allowing two hits and a walk. Guadamuz is now 5-1 on the season.
The last HBCU pitcher to receive the honor was Harris-Stowe State southpaw Matt Mammen in 2007. William Carey University’s Derek Thompson was the last GCAC pitcher to receive the national honor on April 7, 2009.
This is Talladega’s first national weekly honor for baseball since Nerio Barreto was the NAIA Player of the Week on March 12, 2013 when the Venezuelan hit 1.000 (9-for-9) with four doubles, two triples, four RBIs and seven runs in a doubleheader sweep of Bethel (Tenn.) and a win over Concordia College of Selma, Alabama.