Braden Mussat of the Kalamazoo College baseball team was named the SAAC Men's Hornet of the Week on Wednesday (May 10).
Kalamazoo played a single non-conference home game against Defiance (May 3), a single road MIAA game at Adrian (May 5), and an MIAA home doubleheader against Adrian (May 6). The Hornets won 9-8 over the Yellow Jackets in walk-off fashion before dropping two of three to the Bulldogs. The baseball team dropped the first two games to Adrian 6-0 and 9-6 but then bounced back to win game three 10-5 and won the MIAA Regular Season Title outright with a 17-4 record.
Mussat was stellar in his one start last week, picking up the lone win of the three-game series against Adrian. In the final game of the series, with Kalamazoo needing a win to secure the outright MIAA Regular Season Title, Mussat delivered by throwing six scoreless innings on just 86 pitches. He allowed just one hit, two walks, and hit a batter, but seven of his 18 outs came via the strikeout. During the regular season, Mussat seized the third spot in the weekend rotation and ran with it, going 6-0 with one complete game shutout against New Jersey City on Mar. 19. His other five wins came in conference play, and he did not give up a run in three of those starts. He has gone 46 innings in 11 appearances (eight starts), allowing just 11 runs (seven earned) for a 1.37 earned-run average and striking out 38 compared to 10 walks.
The junior was primarily a reliever in his first two seasons, starting just three times in 26 appearances. At the end of the 2023 regular season, Mussat has appeared in 37 games (11 starts) and has a 9-1 record in 86 innings. He has a career 2.83 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 34 walks.
The Hornets will have earned the right to host the MIAA Tournament as the top seed. Kalamazoo will take on Hope first on Wednesday (May 10), will host three games on Thursday (May 11), and the championship on Friday (May 12).
2022-23 Men's Hornets of the Week
Braden Mussat, Baseball
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