MIAC Athletes of the Week

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University's Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) has hit her share of home runs during her collegiate career, belting three as a freshman, four as a sophomore and a career-best five a year ago.

Through the Cardinals' first 14 games this year, however, Gannon had yet to have the opportunity to “trot” around the bases.

Then came the seventh inning of SMU's first game against St. Olaf last Tuesday, when Gannon delivered the game's only run — a solo home run that lifted the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory.

And jump-started a week that saw Gannon hit home runs in four consecutive games — and five in a six-game span.

Gannon's jaw-dropping performance earned her Co-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors, the conference office announced Monday.

Gannon finished the week hitting .318 — with five of her seven hits being home runs — while also scoring seven times, driving in 11 runs and boasting a 1.000 slugging percentage.

Gannon shared the MIAC Player of the Week honor with St. Thomas' Kayla Boward, who hit .618, going 13-for-16 with three doubles and six runs scored in leading the league-leading Tommies to a perfect 6-0 week. UST's Biz Sitzman, meanwhile, was the league's Pitcher of the Week, after going 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA. She allowed just one earned run in 15.1 innings, while striking out seven and walking just one.