Brandon Ward, a 6-5 right-handed pitcher from Chillicothe, Illinois, saved one of his best performances on the mound for his final game in a Prairie Fire uniform. Facing a Grinnell squad that leads the Midwest Conference in batting average and runs, he held the Pioneers to five hits and six runs — all of which were unearned — while walking two and striking out a career-high 13 in an incredible 10 innings of work. Ward is the first Knox starting pitcher to throw a pitch in the 10th inning (let alone complete it) in 20 years, and no Prairie Fire hurler has struck out more than 13 in a game in at least a quarter century. And to top it off, Knox rallied in the bottom of the 10th to give him a 7-6 victory, his fifth of the season. He finished the season fifth in the Midwest League in ERA (3.91) and saves (4), fifth in wins (5), and seventh in strikeouts (49).
