Cooper Mills of the Kalamazoo College baseball team was named the SAAC Men's Hornet of the Week on Tuesday (May 2).
Kalamazoo played Olivet in a three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday (Apr. 29) and a single game on Sunday (Apr. 30). The Hornets won both games of the doubleheader on Saturday in seven innings over the Comets 14-4 and 20-4. Then, the baseball team captured a share of the MIAA Regular Season Title for the first time since 1927 with a 14-2 seven-inning win on Sunday.
Mills was excellent in the leadoff spot for the Hornets by getting on base in 12 of the 17 opportunities and allowing the middle of the order to produce runs. He led the team this past week with a .643 (9-14) batting average and walked thrice for a .706 on-base percentage. Mills came around to score six times and stole three bases in the process. Two of his nine hits were doubles while driving in six runs himself. In the doubleheader on Saturday, Mills went 4-5 and 4-6 with three RBI in each game. He leads the team with 132 at bats and 48 runs scored this season while accumulating 46 hits, six doubles, 28 RBI, 26 walks, and 16 stolen bases.
Last season as a sophomore, Mills was named to the All-MIAA First Team as a second baseman. In 97 career games, he has a slashline of .334/.451/.394 with 96 hits, 17 doubles, 48 RBI, 90 runs scored, and 50 walks. Mills has only struck out 24 times in 287 career at bats and has only been caught stealing once in 24 tries.
The Hornets will play a makeup non-conference game against Defiance on Wednesday (May 3) at Woodworth Field. Then, Kalamazoo will finish the regular season with a three-game series against Adrian with a single road game on Friday (May 5) and a home doubleheader on Saturday (May 6). The Hornets will be able to win the MIAA Regular Season Title outright with one win against the Bulldogs.
2022-23 Men's Hornets of the Week
Cooper Mills, Baseball
Louis Landreau, Tennis
Ryar Rinehart, Baseball
David Stechow, Baseball
Casey Johnson, Tennis
Harrison Poeszat, Baseball
Braden Mussat, Baseball
Jacob Davis, Baseball
Logan Gillis, Lacrosse
Harrison Poeszat, Baseball
Sam Ankley, Diving
Josh Decker, Basketball
Peter Fitzgerald, Tennis
Josh Decker, Basketball
Sam Ankley, Diving
Oliver Tye, Swimming
Ty Horky, Basketball
DJ Courtney, Basketball
Caleb Caul, Basketball
Ty Horky, Basketball
Sam Ankley, Diving
Josh Decker, Basketball
Lukas Broadsword, Basketball
Sam Ankley, Diving
Jonah Spates, Football
Payton Fleming, Football
Zach Butters, Swimming
Ben Pickrel, Swimming
Tyler Omness, Golf
Josh Nichols, Football
Lance Taylor, Football
Bubba Wilson, Football
Ian Burr, Football