Aidan King named National Pitcher of the Month

Florida Gators ace Aidan King is having a season to remember, and Friday he was named the National Pitcher of the Month for April by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

It’s a well-deserved honor.

King, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., is 7-2, with a 1.78 ERA this season. His ERA leads the SEC and is ninth nationally. King has allowed 12 earned runs in 60.2 innings.

In April, he posted victories and quality starts in all four of his outings. Per a UF release, “During his four-start win streak, the sophomore right-hander has gone at least six innings every time out to total 28 2/3 frames with just five runs allowed for a 1.57 ERA and 28-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. King surrendered just 13 hits in the month of April while facing four powerful SEC foes in Ole Miss, No. 4 Georgia, No. 13 Auburn and No. 7 Texas A&M.”

Here are more notable numbers:

—King is the only qualified SEC pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA this season.

—He is second in the SEC and fifth nationally in WHIP (0.87).

—He is third in the SEC in wins and ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.69), to go along with a team-high seven quality starts.

—Opponents are batting just .182 batting against him.

—The Gators lead the country with seven shutouts; King started four of those games.

— He is 11-3 with a 1.36 ERA and 89-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 99 1/3 innings pitched (15 earned runs allowed) over his last 16 starts.

King will pitch Friday night in the Gators’ series opener at No. 12 Oklahoma. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.

UF is 29-16 overall, 11-10 in the SEC. Oklahoma is 29-14, 11-10.