April 14, 2003

CHICAGO - On the strength of a career-high 13 strikeouts and a 16 consecutive scoreless innings streak, TCU junior Clayton Jerome (Mesquite, Texas/Poteet) has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Monday. The honor marks the league-leading third time Jerome has been named C-USA Pitcher of the Week this season and the fourth time in his career that he has earned the accolade.

TCU rode Jerome's right arm to a thrilling 1-0 victory at UAB Friday evening. The junior was handed just one run in the first inning and clung to the slim lead by allowing just four hits and striking out the career-best 13 over eight shutout innings. The last two Ks were perhaps the biggest of Jerome's career, as he stranded a UAB runner on third base by fanning Blazer sluggers Kyle Leon and Daniel Hill to end the eighth inning.

The 13 strikeouts topped his previous career high of 12 set in his last start, an 8-0 victory at Memphis on April 5. Combined with the eight shutout stanzas at U of M, his scoreless innings streak has reached 16. In all, Jerome ran his team-best overall record to 7-1. In five C-USA starts this season, he boasts a league-best 5-0 record and a sterling 0.89 ERA.

Jerome was a big part of the TCU pitching staff tossing 26 consecutive scoreless innings until UAB finally posted a run against the Frogs in the eighth inning of Sunday's series finale. TCU swept the three-game series at UAB by scores of 1-0, 7-0 and 10-2.

The junior previously garnered Pitcher of the Week honors this season by carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning of a 13-3 victory at Saint Louis on March 22 and snapping TCU's 10-game losing streak to nationally ranked Texas Tech with a 2-1 win over the Red Raiders on Feb. 22. Last season, Jerome was named Pitcher of the Week for striking out 10 in a complete-game victory on April 12, also against SLU.

Jerome and the Horned Frogs will look to keep up their winning ways when they face East Carolina in a critical C-USA series this weekend at Lupton Stadium and Williams-Reilly Field. The squads, who are tied for second place in C-USA, just a game behind league-leading Southern Miss, begin their three-game set at 6:30 p.m. Friday.