Three days after earning the win against Sacred Heart, Josh Sowers ’05 garnered Ivy League Co-Pitcher of the Week honors yesterday.

Sowers went the distance in Friday’s 1-0 victory at Harbor Yard, striking out 11 in a seven-inning shutout to up his Ivy League-leading total to 23. Sacred Heart did not pose much of a problem for the adroit right-hander, who allowed four hits and walked one. The Pioneers made a final push in the seventh inning. But with one out and the tying runner on second base, Sowers fanned the next two batters to end the threat and the game.

“I’ve played with Josh for four years, and I can’t remember a bad start,” captain C.J. Orrico ’05 said. “He has a really strong presence on the mound, and he always keeps us in the game.”

Sowers, who ranks third in the conference in ERA with 0.95, has not allowed a run in his last 14 innings on the mound. In his last start, a March 11 game against Georgetown, he pitched seven scoreless innings before he was relieved. The Hoyas eventually defeated the Elis, 1-0.

Sowers anchors a Bulldog rotation that struggled in the season’s early-going, but has shown significant improvement in the past few games. In the second game of Friday’s double-header, Mike Mongiardini ’07 hurled five-plus strong innings before giving way to Rosenthal, who closed out the game in perfect fashion to secure the 4-3 win. One day later, in the series finale, Alec Smith ’06 tossed a nine-inning shut-out, lifting the Elis over the Pioneers, 1-0.

“Coming into the season, we knew pitching was one of our strengths,” Orrico said. “Going down the line, starters and the bullpen, we’re a very formidable squad pitching-wise. We hope to ride our pitching going into the Ivy League season.”