NATCHITOCHES – Cal Carver flirted with perfection deep into Friday night's start against Alabama A&M.
 
His performance against the visiting Bulldogs landed Northwestern State's left-hander the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week award Monday. The honor is voted on by league sports information directors.
 
Carver, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior from San Antonio, Texas, carried a perfect game into the eighth inning of the Demons' 7-0 Friday win against Alabama A&M, retiring the first 22 batters he faced before allowing a one-out single in the eighth, earning his first career league award.
 
Although Carver was unable to complete the Demons' first perfect game since 1964, he did spin the first complete game shutout of his career – Northwestern State's first since Nathan Jones' 2019 masterpiece at Stephen F. Austin. Carver's three-hit shutout, in which he struck out a career-high 13 batters, had a game score of 94, the highest in Division I on Friday.
 
Carver is 2-1 with an 0.70 ERA this season and is among the top 15 among active Division I pitchers in four categories – strikeouts (223, 8^th), innings pitched (236 2-3), starts (38, 12th) and victories (16, 15^th).
 
Carver ranks 12 nationally in WHIP (0.62), 14^th in ERA and in hits per nine innings (3.51) and 48^th in strikeouts (30). His 205 career strikeouts are sixth most in NSU history and he could reach the top 10 in career starts and innings pitched later this season.
 
This is the second straight week for a Demon to grab a Southland Conference individual award, following Daunte Stuart's SLC Hitter of the Week honor one week ago.
 
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they host ULM at 6 p.m.