COLOMBIA, Missouri – Jack Leiter is making it a habit to be stingy on the mound and flawless on the scoreboard.
Vanderbilt’s sophomore right-footed seven straight hits in the Commodores’ 11-3 win over Missouri on Friday night – after launching a nine-straight hit last Saturday against South Carolina.
The scary part? Leiter said he didn’t even think he had his “A” material in the last two premieres.
“Today I didn’t have all of my pitches exactly where I would like them to be, and I think that is encouraging for me,” he said on SportsCenter on Friday night. “There are always things to work on, and that’s the fun part of throwing.”
The son of former big league pitcher Al Leiter is ESPN number 2 in the MLB draft. The sophomore eliminated 10 points and advanced two against Missouri. He has not allowed a hit since he gave up two in the fifth entry against Oklahoma State on March 13 – a 16 2/3 entry period.
Leiter said he understood coach Tim Corbin’s decision to withdraw him on Friday, despite the fact that he was two innings from his second with no streak, describing the conversation before the eighth as “very friendly”.
When asked what Corbin said to him, Leiter told SportsCenter: “It was, ‘Great job, I’m taking care of you for the long term here, it’s a long season, it’s still the start of the season.’ And I understood it perfectly. Of course I was tired, you are always tired and always wanting to go more. I wanted to play the whole game, of course. But I understood. “
Leiter is 6-0 with an ERA of 0.25, 59 eliminations and 13 walks in six matches (36 entries) this season. He only allowed one deserved run and seven hits.
Leiter, 20, eliminated 16 in the 5-0 win over South Carolina last week, while retiring his last 27 hitters after allowing a walk to lead the game.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have the first choice in this year’s draft, followed by the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.
Leiter’s teammate, Kumar Rocker, son of former NFL striker Tracy Rocker, is number 3 in the last draft of the ESPN MLB. Junior law improved to 6-0 with an ERA of 0.73 after allowing two runs – one won – and five hits with five eliminations and two walks in six innings in a 10-2 victory over Missouri on Thursday night -market.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.