Keeran smashes five homers, earns NSAA Player of the Week honors

By Matt Oliver

FOREST CITY – Waldorf University baseball player Mitchell Keeran smashed five home runs in a six-game span to earn North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Player of the Week honors.

Keeran, who was announced as Player of the Week on Monday, produced nine RBIs while going deep five times and helping the Warriors (15-25, 11-5) to three conference wins on the week. He closed out the week with 11 total hits, a .458 batting average, a 1.167 slugging percentage and 11 runs scored.

The first long ball of the week for Keeran was a solo shot in Tuesday’s 5-2 nonconference loss to Clarke University (28-12) at Peosta. He knocked the ball out of the park twice and drove in four runs during a 14-13 conference victory in 12 innings over Presentation College (14-32, 4-12) on Saturday at Forest City. Keeran finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer as Waldorf battled to a 19-16 win over the Saints in the following game.

Keeran delivered a 3-for-4 performance that included a solo homer and his second double of the week during Sunday’s 12-3 loss to Presentation.

On the season, Keeran leads the Warriors with eight homers, is tied for first on the team with 30 RBIs and has provided a team-high 39 runs scored. The freshman from Clear Lake is second on the team with 55 total hits and leads Waldorf with 15 doubles. Keeran is currently sporting a .372 batting average, a .649 slugging percentage and a .438 on-base percentage.

The Warriors currently sit in third place in the NSAA standings and return to conference play this weekend, taking on Bellevue University (34-6, 12-1) in a four-game road series. Bellevue is ranked No. 3 in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll. The series starts on Saturday with a 1 p.m. twin bill at Omaha, Nebraska, and the final two games are set for Sunday, starting at 12 p.m. at Bellevue, Nebraska.