Rohde's dominant start rewarded with Heart Pitcher of the Week honor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Off to a strong 7-3 start, the Clarke University baseball team got their first individual honor of the 2023 season as senior left-handed pitcher Isaac Rohde earned the Heart of America Athletic Conference's Pitcher of the Week honor.

Rohde receives the recognition after a stellar start against RV William Carey University on Saturday where he threw a complete game seven innings, allowing a single run on five hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The 10-strikeout game is his third-straight double digit punchout performance to start the season as he currently sits in the top-20 in the NAIA for total strikeouts (35) and K/9 (15.00) with 21 innings pitched as he went seven innings in each of his first three starts.

In total this season, Rohde now touts 1.29 ERA in those 21 innings pitched with only three of his five runs allowed being earned with 16 hits and five walks allowed so far in the non-conference portion of the schedule. 

The Rice Lake, Wis. native made the move from the Pride's bullpen in 2022, where he earned a Pitcher of the Week last season nearly a year to this exact date on Feb. 28, 2022. Rohde was an All-Heart Second Team relief pitcher in 2022 but showed plenty of length to be able to start games this season as he set the school record for innings pitched in a game with a 9.2-inning appearance against Baker in the Heart Tournament last season in an extra innings victory for CU.

Clarke baseball will have one more weekend of non-conference action as they will travel to Gwinnett, Ga. to play three games in total this Friday and Saturday with two against Georgia Gwinnett College and a single game against Lourdes University.