KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced its first Baseball Athletes of the Week, presented by
Mammoth Turf, for the 2022 season. Northeastern State’s Brock Reller was tabbed the Association’s first Hitter of the Week and Northwest Missouri’s Max Spitzmiller was selected as the season’s first Pitcher of the Week.
MIAA Hitter of the Week – Brock Reller – Northeastern State
Brock Reller homered three times in his first two games in a Northeastern State uniform and scored four runs. The fifth-year transfer also drew two walks and had a .556 on-base percentage. He is currently slugging 1.714 after opening weekend.
MIAA Pitcher of the Week – Max Spitzmiller – Northwest Missouri
Max Spitmiller tossed eight shutout innings of four-hit ball opening weekend for the Bearcats. The junior struck out nine Ouachita Baptist batters en route to a 1-0 season-opening victory. Spitzmiller did not walk a batter as he tallied his eighth career victory. All four hits allowed were for singles by Ouachita Baptist.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Hitters
Connor Scott – Washburn
Connor Scott has started his Ichabod career 7-14 at the plate through the first three games of the season. The sophomore has totaled three doubles, a triple, three runs scored and just two strikeouts.
Garrett McGowan – Pittsburg State
Garrett McGowan belted the go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning to help propel Pittsburg State to a 6-4 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma in the season opener for both teams. The senior from Blue Springs, Mo., went 2-for-5 in the game with a double, a homerun and three RBIs.
Pitchers
Asher Finke – Newman
In his Newman debut, Asher Finke threw six shutout innings to pick up his career win at Southern Nazarene over Newman’s opening weekend. The Jets won 4-0 in a 7-inning game thanks to nine strikeouts and just two hits allowed by Finke.
Dalton Huggins – Washburn
Dalton Huggins made two relief appearances during the Ichabods opening weekend and allowed just one hit in 4.1 innings pitched while striking out eight. Huggins came on in the eighth inning with two runners on and two out in a tie ballgame against Palm Beach Atlantic and ended the inning with a strikeout. He returned to the bump in the ninth and struck out the side to send the game to extras as the Ichabods went on to win in 10 innings.
ALSO NOMINATED
Hitters: Jenner Kehe – Fort Hays State, Javier Pena – Emporia State
Pitters: Aaron Bechtel – Emporia State, Jacob Ensz – Fort Hays State