Bishop's Bytes (Week I)
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team begins its spring break in California as the YellowJackets travel to No. 19 Chico State for a three game set Feb. 27-28, for a doubleheader Sunday followed by a single game Monday. The Jackets then travel to The College of Idaho for a doubleheader Mar. 3, to round out the trip.
Fans can listen live and access live stats of the games at Chico State by logging on to www.msubsports.com and navigating to the baseball schedule page.
The Yellowjackets stand at 5-3 overall and are coming off of their first four-game series win since 2009. MSUB won three of four at Regis University last weekend. Sophomore Colby Robison continued his torrid start going 8 for 14 with two doubles, one home run and 13 runs batted in against the Rangers. He hit .571 and slugged .929.
For the season, the he leads the team hitting .586 on the year on 17 of 29 from the plate. Robison has scored a team-high 10 runs, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBI. He is slugging .966 on the year with a .639 on-base percentage. Robison is a perfect 2 for 2 in stolen bases.
Senior Sam Kinzeler is second in average at a .429 clip. He has played and started in six games with nine hits in 21 at bats. He has a team-high four doubles with nine RBI. Kinzeler is slugging .619 and is reaching base .538 percent of the time.
Sophomore Austin Rue (.364 average), freshman Dillon Ness (.350) and senior Jordan Kessler (.313) all are averaging over .300 from the plate. Kessler is second on the team in hits with 10, while Ness is tied for the team lead with 10 runs scored. Ness also has four doubles on the year and leads the team with three stolen bases.
As a team, the Jackets are hitting .309 with 82 hits and 23 extra-base hits including 17 doubles, three triples and three home runs. MSUB is slugging .430 and is reaching base at a .427 clip. The Jackets are 8 for 11 in stolen bases and have committed 11 errors (.958 fielding) leading to seven unearned runs.
On the bump, junior Brian Hutchings leads the team with a 2-0 record in two starts. He has pitched a team-high 12 innings and has fanned 10. Senior Archie Smith, who redshirted last year due to injury, has gotten off to a great start at 2-0 in relief. He has not surrendered a run this season in three appearances while striking out seven. The opposition is hitting just .095 against him in 7.1 innings of work. Senior Brian Howe has two saves on the year in two appearances.
The pitching staff carries a 7.38 ERA into this weekend's games in 61 innings of work. The Jackets have allowed 75 hits, 57 runs and 50 earned runs. The Jackets have walked 27 and fanned 58 as opponents are hitting .310 against them.
Head coach Rob Bishop is in his first year at the helm of the Yellowjackets. He was hired in August from Miles Community College where he was the head coach for 10 years. Bishop guided the Pioneers to 10 conference championships, seven regional tournament appearances and a berth in the NJCAA College World Series in 2007.
Check back with www.msubsports.com for “Bishop's Bytes” each week this season for previews of upcoming opponents and recaps of the past week, as well as news and notes on the team.
Chico State enters the week with a 5-1 record and a 3-1 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Wildcats were selected second with one first place vote behind unanimous favorite UC San Diego in the CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 3-1 series against Cal Poly Pomona last weekend. CSU dropped the first game of the series 8-1, but came back winning the second game 9-0 and the final two 4-3 and 6-5.
Ian McKay leads the team with a .529 average in five games started. He is 9 of 17 with one triple and one home run to go along with five RBI. Adrian Bringas and Shane Kroker lead the team with 10 hits each. Bringas is hitting .500 on the year with three doubles, while Kroker has one home run and five RBI. Jackson Evans (.409 average) leads the team with two triples and seven RBI. He is a perfect 3 for 3 in stolen bases.
As a team, the Wildcats are hitting an impressive .347 from the plate with 69 hits. They have 21 extra-base hits with 12 doubles, four triples and five home runs. The team is slugging .523 and reaching base .418 percent of the time. They are 8 for 11 in stolen bases and have a .969 fielding percentage with seven errors leading to just two unearned runs.
On the mound, the Wildcats are led by Nick Baker who is 1-0 in two starts in 10.1 innings of work. He is second on the team in strikeouts with five, while Ryan O'Shea (1-0) leads the team with seven strikeouts. O'Shea is one of three Wildcats who have not surrendered a run this season. Juan Guerra leads the team with two saves.
MSUB and Chico State have never met on the diamond. The Jackets are 0-1 against teams from the CCAA. The Yellowjackets lost a 7-5 decision to Cal State Monterey Bay last year in Seaside, Calif. The Jackets were scheduled to play Sonoma State on that trip, too, but it was rained out. The Jackets and Otters also were scheduled for a twinbill, but only were able to play one.
The College of Idaho, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program, stands at 7-3 on the year and is scheduled to host University of British Columbia in a four game set this weekend, prior to MSUB Mar. 3. The Coyotes have won six-straight since starting the season 1-3.
Leading the way for the Coyotes this season is Todd Griffiths who leads the team hitting .500 for the year. He has five doubles and eight RBI. Isaac Garsez leads the team with 13 hits, three triples and three home runs to go along with 10 RBI. Garsez is slugging a team-high .909. He is 9 for 11 in stolen bases to lead the squad.
As a team, the Coyotes are hitting .291 on the year with 95 hits including 22 doubles, six triples and six home runs. They are slugging .450 and reach base .393 percent of the time. The College of Idaho is an astonishing 30 of 36 in stolen bases and has committed 12 errors leading to 12 unearned runs.
On the mound, the Coyotes are led by Joshua Orr who is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two starts. He has one shutout in 13 innings of work. Orr leads the team with 10 strikeouts. Mitch Dame is 1-0 in two appearances with one start and a 1.12 ERA. He has thrown eight innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. The opposition is hitting just .214 against him. Bobby Wassmann also is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA on the year.
This also is the first meeting between MSUB and the College of Idaho on the diamond.
