CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) baseball teams competed in week eight of the 2026 season.
 
Athletes of the Week:
Player of the Week:
Pitcher of the Week:
Drew Bowles (Lexington, Ky.) Transylvania University | Pitcher | Junior - Drew Bowles delivered a dominant complete-game performance, tossing seven innings, while allowing just two hits, walking three, and striking out 15. Bowles improved to 6–1 on the season and continues to lead the conference in ERA, while ranking among the leaders in numerous pitching categories.

Notable Performances:

• Zayden Stiller (Greenfield, Ind.) Anderson University | Catcher | Senior - Zayden Stiller went 3-for-8 with a double, a triple, and two RBI as Anderson went 2-1 on the week. He recorded a .375 batting average and a .750 slugging percentage.
• Rhet Heckman (Spencer, Ind.) Anderson University | Pitcher | Freshman - Rhet Heckman went 8 1/3 innings in his win against Franklin. He recorded a 1.08 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and a .161 opponent batting average.
• Lawrence Griffey (Nashville, Tenn.) Berea College | Pitcher | Senior - Lawrence Griffey threw five strong innings in relief against Earlham. His performance was highlighted by seven strikeouts, and only giving up two runs on six hits.
• Drew Johnson (Bucyrus, Ohio) Bluffton University | Second Base | Freshman - Drew Johnson went 8-of-15 for a pert .533 batting average this week. He drove in two runs and slugged .733, thanks to three doubles, and had a .611 on-base percentage.
• Alexander James (Vandalia, Ohio) Bluffton University | Pitcher | Senior - Alexander James had a spotless 0.00 ERA in 4 1/3 innings of relief over two appearances. His four innings of one-hit relief in innings 10 through 13 helped the Beavers hang around long enough to take down Manchester 4-3 in 15 innings on Saturday. James struck out six and walked three, while holding opponents to a miniscule .133 batting average for the week.
• Austin Dick (Hamilton, Ohio) Earlham College | Infield | Freshman - Austin Dick hit .700 in a 4-0 week for Earlham. The freshman scored seven runs, including a walk-off run after a leadoff triple in the seventh inning on Sunday. Dick was a perfect 5-5 in stolen bases and earned one walk on the week.
• Cayman Huntsman (Lebanon, Ind.) Earlham College | Pitcher | Junior - Junior Cayman Huntsman delivered a complete game shutout on Sunday to secure the weekend sweep of Berea. He went seven innings in the 10-0 win. Huntsman allowed just one hit with six strikeouts on the day.
• Chase Wagner (Zionsville, Ind.) Franklin College | Pitcher | Freshman - Chase Wagner took a hard-luck loss at Anderson, allowing one earned run on just three hits over eight strong innings of work. He struck out nine batters.
• John Girard (Richmond, Ky.) Hanover College | Pitcher | Senior - John Girard had a strong performance at Transylvania over the weekend pitching seven complete innings as the starter with six strikeouts. He allowed just two runs on six hits with no free bases awarded.
• Josh Simpson (Bardstown, Ky.) Hanover College | Pitcher/First Base | Senior - Josh Simpson led Hanover over the weekend at Transylvania. He was clutch in the team's 11-inning win going 3-for-6 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored. He finished the weekend going 4-for-11 with three RBI and two walks.
• Max Horner (Goshen, Ind.) Manchester University | Outfield | Sophomore - Max Horner was the standout for Manchester across five games this week. Horner was 14-for-26 at the plate with 11 RBI and four doubles.
• Jake McGrath (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Manchester University | Pitcher | Senior - Jake McGrath made two appearances for Manchester this week, earning wins in both of his starts. McGrath pitched a total of 13 innings and allowed just four earned runs on nine hits, while recording four strikeouts.
• Ethan Mason (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Shortstop | Senior - Ethan Mason was 7-for-16 this week with two doubles, two RBI, a run scored, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. He was also 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts.
• Nolan Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Pitcher | Junior - Nolan Miller was outstanding in Mount St. Joseph's win over Rose-Hulman on Saturday. He earned the win throwing seven innings allowing seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out eight.
• Issei Takahashi (Hartland, Wis.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Outfield | Sophomore - Issei Takahashi helped lead Rose-Hulman to a 4-1 record across his five appearances this week. He started the week hitting 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI, as Rose-Hulman took down Hanover 16-0. In Rose-Hulman's three-game series with Mount St. Joseph, Issei hit 8-for-13 with three runs and three RBI. He had clutch moments on both the offensive and defensive ends, as he hit the walk-off RBI single in game one, to win by a score of 7-6. In game three, with Rose-Hulman up 9-8, Issei threw out the tying run at home from left field in the last inning, which secured another win for the Fightin' Engineers. He finished the week with a .571 batting average (12-21), with seven runs and five RBIs.
• Camden Judson (Terre Haute, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Pitcher | Junior - Camden Judson posted a perfect 2-0 record on the mound this week with a 16-0 win over Hanover and a 9-8 win over Mt. St. Joseph. In Rose-Hulman's win over Hanover, Cameron struck out a career-high ten batters, while giving up just five hits, no walks, and no runs in six innings. He followed up that performance by giving up just two earned runs against MSJ in six innings. He finished the week with a 1.50 ERA across 12 innings of action.

Looking Forward:
HCAC Baseball Standings

Around the League:
HCAC Baseball Schedule