Tanner Hawkins of the Kalamazoo College baseball team was named the SAAC Men's Hornet of the Week on Tuesday (Apr. 2).
The Hornets continued their season by finishing the Florida trip against Colby and (RV) Augustana on Feb. 25-26 before beginning the MIAA season with a three-game series at Albion on Feb. 29-30. Kalamazoo was defeated by the Mules and Vikings 12-8 and 4-2, then swept the Britons 9-1, 18-8, and 10-3.
Hawkins was an on-base machine, reaching first 21 times with 13 hits and five walks, plus being hit by a pitch three times. He hit .722 (13-18), had a .808 on-base percentage, and a .889 slugging percentage in five games. Hawkins was especially effective in the Albion series, reaching base 15 times in 16 attempts by going 11-12 at the plate with five walks. He also collected 11 runs scored, three doubles, two RBI, and a stolen base. His best game came in game one of the Albion doubleheader when he went 5-5 with four runs scored, two RBI, and a walk. Hawkins was also perfect in left field, with 10 putouts.
Currently, Hawkins leads the MIAA in batting average (.605) and on-base percentage (.700) while also leading the team in slugging percentage (.868) and the least amount of strikeouts (1). He has also collected 23 hits, 19 runs scored, 11 RBI, eight walks, seven doubles, a home run, and a stolen base in 12 games. The junior is a career .367 batter with 72 hits, 61 runs scored, 38 RBI, 29 walks, 16 doubles, 10 stolen bases, and two home runs in 196 at-bats.
Kalamazoo will continue its season with a midweek game at Hope on Wednesday (Apr. 3) before playing Calvin in a three-game series with a home game on Friday (Apr. 5) and a road doubleheader on Saturday (Apr. 6).
2023-24 Men's Hornets of the Week
Josh Nichols, Football
Jon Brunette, Football
Chad Ewing, Soccer
Rob Kloosterman, Cross Country
Lucas Hanifan, Football
Emiliano Alvarado Rescala, Golf
Henry Plumstead, Soccer
Tommy Kartes, Football
Rob Kloosterman, Cross Country
Lucas Hanifan, Football
Ty Horky, Basketball
Gabriel Sharp, Basketball
Lukas Broadsword, Basketball
Ty Horky, Basketball
Ty Horky, Basketball
Carter Bandemer, Basketball
Lucas Hanifan, Basketball
Carter Bandemer, Basketball
Gabriel Sharp, Basketball
Ben Pickrel, Swimming
Lukas Broadsword, Basketball
Gabriel Sharp, Basketball
Tanner Hawkins, Baseball
Logan Gillis, Lacrosse
Harrison Poeszat, Baseball
Jack Bungart, Lacrosse
Braden Mussat, Baseball
Tanner Hawkins, Baseball