[2023 MIAA Baseball Athletes of the Week: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its Baseball Athletes of the Week for eighth week of competition in the 2023 season.
 
MIAA Hitter of the Week – Nixon Brannan – Pittsburg State     
Nixon Brannan hit .750 over three games to help lead Pittsburg State to a series sweep of Fort Hays State. The San Angelo, Texas native had three doubles and three home runs among his nine hits on the week (9-for-12). He scored seven runs and compiled nine RBI. Brannan went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBI in the Gorillas’ 14-1 series opening win. He went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and three RBI later in the day in Pitt State’s 9-5 victory. In the series finale, Brannan went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three more RBI. Brannan currently leads the MIAA in batting average (.431), home runs (12) and RBI (49). He currently leads NCAA Division II in RBI per game (1.96 pg).
 
MIAA Pitcher of the Week – Garrett VanDeventer – Newman     
Garrett VanDeventer threw eight innings in route to a 5-1 win over Central Oklahoma. The senior pitcher struck out six batters while allowed just three hits and one run scored in his fourth win of the season.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Hitters
John Prudhom – Central Missouri
John Prudhom hit a blistering .643 with nine hits in 14 at bats, helping the Mules earn a series win at Rogers State. The redshirt senior had four runs, one double, one triple, one homer, three RBI, a 1.071 slugging percentage, .667 on-base percentage and one stole base. He went 3-for-4 and fell a double short of the cycle with a triple, homer and single in the game one victory. Prudhom also scored three runs and drove in two. He went 3-for-5 in the game two setback before going 3-for-5 with a double in the series finale win.
 
Henry Kusiak – Missouri Southern
Henry Kusiak led the way for the seventh ranked Lions to wins over Missouri S&T and a home sweep of Emporia State this past weekend, finishing with a .462 average, a 1.077 slugging percentage, a .611 on-base percentage for a 1.688 OPS from six hits, two doubles, two homers scoring six times and having seven RBI. Against the Miners, Kusiak had two RBI and scored a run with a double and was hit by two pitches. He began the series against the Hornets off by going 2-for-2 with three RBI and scoring twice with a home run and two walks drawn while stealing a base. In game two, Kusiak went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI a homer and a double as the Lions got back-to-back run rule victories over the Hornets and claimed the sweep in the series finale.
 
Pitchers
Cole Woods – Missouri Southern
Cole Woods picked up his fifth win of the season with a shutout five inning performance giving up one hit and no walks with six strikeouts and opponents’ batting .063 against him. Woods has now won four straight starts and had at least five strikeouts in his last five while giving up one hit in two of his last three and has pitched at least five innings in six straight starts.
 
Conner Wolf – Central Missouri
Conner Wolf helped the Mules to a series win at Rogers State over the weekend after tossing a seven-inning, complete-game in UCM’s 12-1 victory in game one of a doubleheader. The sophomore gave up just one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts and zero walks on 85 pitches.
 
ALSO NOMINATED
Hitters: Ryan Koski (Northwest Missouri), Isaiah Ural (Fort Hays State), Caden Bressler (Wasburn)
Pitters: Zac Shoemaker (Pittsburg State), Noah Geekie (Emporia State), Alex Slocum (Northwest Missouri), Jenner Kehe (Fort Hays State), Mickey Coyne (Washburn)