After leading the Valparaiso University baseball program to a top-25 win on Friday night, starting pitcher Jacob Rosenkranz (Lincolnshire, Ill. / Stevenson) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday.

Rosenkranz was the winning pitcher in the team’s 6-1 upset of No. 22 Southern Miss on Friday night in Hattiesburg, Miss. The right-handed hurler guided Valpo to its first win over a top-25 opponent in five years by allowing one run on just two hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings. He needed just 60 pitches to get through six frames.

Rosenkranz was making his second career start – and this was quite the improvement from his first start, when he did not record an out and was charged with three runs back in 2021. Rosenkranz’s gem helped the Beacons record of the three "Upsets of the Night" in the nation, according to D1Baseball. Rosenkranz outdueled Tanner Hall, a 2022 consensus First Team All-American, to earn the win.

Rosenkranz joins Connor Lockwood as Valpo’s two players who have been recognized as MVC Pitcher of the Week this season. They join Jake Miller, Colin Fields (twice) and Easton Rhodehouse as the only Valpo players to earn MVC Pitcher of the Week honors since the program joined the Missouri Valley Conference.