IRVING -- Texas A&M’s Adam Smith and Barret Loux were named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week and Co-Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by a select media panel, the league office announced Monday.
Loux tossed his first career complete game, a shutout, in Friday’s 7-0 win at Oklahoma State. The junior held an OSU team, which entered the weekend with a .311 batting average, to just four hits, while allowing one walk and striking out seven. Loux allowed just one runner to reach second base on the night, as he won his fourth straight outing and improved to 9-2 on the year. The All-America candidate has the league’s fourth-best ERA (2.05), leads the Big 12 with 111 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to a .188 average on the season.
Smith, meanwhile, hit .471 with two home runs and nine RBIs to lead the Aggies to a 5-0 week and just the third sweep by a visiting team in the 29-year history of OSU’s Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. On Tuesday, the sophomore broke a 1-1, sixth-inning tie at Houston with his first career grand slam. Smith opened the scoring Friday in Stillwater with a solo home run, and tripled off the wall on Saturday afternoon to drive in a pair in an eventual 10-inning win over the Cowboys. He is hitting .355 over A&M’s last 17 games with four home runs, 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
The award was Loux’s second of the season and career, while Smith took home his first career Big 12 weekly honor. Loux was named Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 8, while Smith became the second Aggie to earn POTW honors this spring (Brodie Greene, Feb. 22). Loux shared this week’s award with Mizzou’s Nick Tepesch.
Texas A&M closes the regular season with four games at Olsen Field this week. The Aggies host UT Arlington on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. before opening a weekend set against Kansas State on Friday evening. Tickets are available online at tickets.12thmanfoundation.com or at the Olsen Field box office on game day.