April 2, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest lefthander Eric Niesen has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday.

Niesen, a junior, did not allow a run in three appearances last week. The lefty hurler turned in the best start of his career on Sunday when he pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball at North Carolina, leading the Demon Deacons to a 6-0 defeat of the No. 6-ranked Tar Heels.

The win marked the first time UNC was shutout this season. Niesen threw 110 pitches, 74 for strikes, in Sunday's outing. His performance helped the Deacons snap a four-game losing streak and salvage the final game of the three-game set with the Tar Heels.

Niesen's 8 1/3 innings on Sunday was the longest outing of his career, besting his previous high of seven innings set twice earlier this season. The win was Niesen's first in his last four starts, moving him to 3-3 on the season.

The junior from New Boston, Mich., also pitched twice in relief during the week. He threw a scoreless inning on Wednesday against Winthrop and a scoreless 0.2 innings on Friday against North Carolina.

For the season, Niesen is 3-3 with a 3.78 ERA. He leads the team in strikeouts (39) and innings pitched (47.2).

Niesen is the second Demon Deacon this season to receive a weekly conference award. Infielder Willy Fox was named the ACC Player of the Week on March 12. The last Deacon hurler to earn Pitcher of the Week honors was Charlie Mellies on February 27, 2006.

Wake Forest returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Elon for a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.