LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Slippery Rock University baseball standout Michael Kitko was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
 
Monday's honor is the second such award in Kitko's career and the first PSAC West Athlete of the Week honor for The Rock this season. Kitko earned the accolade after leading SRU to a 4-1 record last week with a non-conference victory at Walsh and a 3-1 PSAC West series win against Lock Haven.
 
In five games, Kitko hit .737 (14-for-19) with four runs scored, two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .783 on-base percentage.
 
Kitko had multiple hits in four of the five games with the highlights being a 5-for-5 performance in The Rock's 11-8 victory at Lock Haven (a game he also earned the win on the mound in) as well as a 4-for-4, one-home run, four-RBI showing at Walsh.
 
In addition to being the first Rock athlete to record a five-hit game since 2023, Kitko is also the first player inside the PSAC West to register five hits in a single-game since Mitchell Grosch did so for Mercyhurst versus D'Youville in 2024.
 
The 2026 season has been a career-year at the plate for Kitko. Over 34 games played, the Houtzdale, Pennsylvania native is hitting .419 with a .464 on-base percentage, .645 slugging percentage, 24 runs, six home runs and 42 RBIs.
 
Kitko either holds team leads or is tied for first place for SRU in batting average, slugging percentage, hits (52), RBI, triples (2), home runs and OPS (1.109). He has also made nine pitching appearances, going 2-2 with 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.
 
Slippery Rock is back in action 3 p.m. Tuesday at Ashland University. SRU and Ashland last played a season ago with The Rock earning a 7-6 road victory.




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