Freshman pitcher Brandon Creel has been voted The State Hornet reader’s athlete of the week for his performance last week.

Creel came within an infield single of pitching a no-hitter in his first career start on April 3. Instead, he had to settle for a combined one-hit shutout Saturday against UC Santa Barbara.

Creel threw eight innings, giving up the lone hit and striking out five Gaucho batters. Creel is now 2-0 in his first season for the Hornets, with his first win coming against CSU Northridge out of the bullpen.

This is Creel’s first State Hornet Athlete of the Week award.

The kinesiology major graduated from local Rosemont High School where, as a senior, he went 8-1 with a 0.38 ERA. He was also named conference MVP last season.

Ross Coleman can be reached at [email protected]