Paige Lowary (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Paige Lowary (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Mizzou freshman pitcher Paige Lowary was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after she picked up three wins in three days at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., including two victories over ranked opponents to improve her season record to 5-0. Mizzou finished 4-1 against a talented field and improved to 8-2 overall.

“I’m really honored to win this award, it means a lot,” Lowary told MUTigers.com. “I’m excited about it, and I’d like to thank my teammates and coaches for putting us in a position to win like they did.  We had a great weekend and we’re all really excited about getting back out there and keeping it going.”

Lowary allowed only three earned runs and 15 strikeouts in 14.2 innings in the circle at the tournament. Lowary limited Long Beach State to just two hits and struck out seven to open her weekend with a win. She threw a career-high 6.2 innings against No. 25 Texas. Lowary went up against No. 13 Arizona and threw four innings, allowing just two hits and no earned runs.

Mizzou plays again Feb. 27-March 1 at the Citrus Classic in Kissimmee, Fla. Mizzou takes on Notre Dame, Penn State, Minnesota, James Madison and Maryland over the three-day stretch.