Less than two years after concluding a memorable career at Southeast, Joey Lucchesi made his Major League Baseball debut March 30 with the San Diego Padres.

Lucchesi, selected in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, debuted against the Milwaukee Brewers, and has started three more times since, recording two wins.

Lucchesi became the first baseball alum to start in a MLB game when started against the Brewers.

He allowed seven hits, three earned runs, walked none and struck out one in 4.2 innings. His first recorded MLB strikeout was against Ryan Braun in the top of the third inning.

Lucchesi is now 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 21.2 innings through four starts this season. He picked up his first MLB win against the Colorado Rockies on April 10, recording eight strikeouts in six innings.

He struck out nine batters over six innings in his most recent outing, a 10-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on April 15. He allowed five hits and did not walk a batter.

Prior to playing for the Padres his professional career began as a member of the Class A Tri-City Dust Devils. There he recorded 1.35 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 40 innings, and was name Short-Season All-Star.

Following his success with Tri-City, Lucchesi pitched 139 innings split between the high-A Lake Elsinore Storm and AA San Antonio Missions a year ago.

While at Southeast he was twice selected Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. He broke the school’s single-season strikeout record with 149 in 2016. He finished at SEMO with a record of 17-7, 2.62 ERA and career-record 242 strikeouts in 199 innings over 32 appearances and 28 starts.