Thomas makes more history

Mizzou softball senior Chelsea Thomas was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, the fifth time she has earned that distinction this season.

With the recognition, Thomas became just the second conference pitcher to earn five weekly awards in a single season. The Tiger standout joins former Tennessee ace Monica Abbott, who earned five honors in 2005.

The conference recognition is not only Thomas’ fifth of Missouri’s inaugural season in the SEC, but is the 17th conference honor of her career.

The two-time All-American pitched the 11th complete game no-hitter of her Mizzou career and shut down the SEC’s hottest-hitting team, No. 2 Tennessee, in the process for Mizzou’s 2-0 win on Saturday, May 3.

The Lady Vols entered the series opener, a nationally televised game on ESPN, with a league-best .344 and .323 batting average in overall and conference games, respectively.

Thomas struck out seven over 7.0 innings, issuing three walks and one hit-by-pitch in the win, which improved her season record to 20-4 and was her SEC-leading 13th conference pitching win.