GRINNELL, Iowa — The Midwest Conference announced its Performers of the Week for baseball today, and the pitching award went to Knox College senior Brandon Ward.

Hailing from Chillicothe, Illinois, Ward took the mound at Blodgett Field for the final time of his Prairie Fire career in the season finale against Grinnell, and he made it a memorable one. The right-hander recorded his first career complete game in the only extra-inning contest of the year for Knox, going a full 10 innings while throwing 144 pitches. He surrendered six runs — though all six were unearned — on only five hits, two walks and hit one batter while striking out a career-high 13 batters as the Prairie Fire rallied in the 10th to win it in walk-off fashion, 7-6, snapping an 11-game slide in the process.

The win was Ward's fifth of the season, the most by a Knox pitcher in a dozen years. Only one other Prairie Fire hurler has struck out as many as 13 batters in a game in the last quarter century, and the last time a Knox pitcher threw more than nine innings in a game happened 20 years ago.

Ward finished the season leading the Prairie Fire in wins (5), ERA (3.91), saves (4) and strikeouts (49), plus tied for the lead in innings pitched (53.0). For his career, he owns a record of 11-13 with a 6.29 ERA over 51 appearances (fifth all-time at Knox) spanning 170.1 innings (tied for fourth), with six saves (tied for third) and 150 strikeouts (third).

• Alec Jordan struck out 13 batters against Cornell College on April 29, 2016.
• Jason Rogers threw 9.1 innings versus Monmouth on April 30, 2005.
• Peter Marquardt is the last Prairie Fire pitcher to win five games in a season (2013).
• Knox ended the year with 15 victories and seven wins in conference play, both of which are its most in eight years.