May 19, 2014

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Kentucky junior left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed – who fired eight shutout innings on Thursday – has been named Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Monday morning.

A native of Terre Haute, Ind., Reed worked eight-shutout, three-hit innings in a series-opening win at Georgia on Thursday, clinching UK’s third consecutive berth in the SEC Tournament. The SEC Pitcher of the Week award marks the first for Reed in 2014, with the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder earning two SEC Player of the Week honors earlier in the year. The pitcher of the week honor is the first of Reed’s career, with the junior also earning consensus national player of the week honors twice in 2014.

In his win on the mound Thursday, Reed also went 4-for-5 at the plate in the pitching performance, driving in three runs. Reed allowed just a two-out walk in the second and eighth innings, and one-out singles in the third and fourth innings, also working around a two-out single in the sixth. Reed retired 14 of the final 16 hitters he faced, starting the game by retiring five consecutive hitters.

With an SEC-leading 10 wins, Reed became the fifth player in school history to reach double-digit wins and the first since Greg Dombrowski went 10-2 during UK’s 2006 SEC Championship season. Reed is now tied with Dombrowski and Matthew Coleman (1987) for third in UK single-season history in wins. On the year, Reed leads the SEC with his 10-2 mark, owning a 2.11 ERA in 14 innings, working 98 innings and striking out 66. In his three-year career, Reed has 17 wins and a 2.88 ERA – the fourth-best in UK history – working 234 innings and striking out 169.

Kentucky (32-22, 14-16 SEC) will return to action on Tuesday in the SEC Tournament, facing No. 19 Alabama at 5:30 p.m. ET at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.