BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team is chomping at the bit to get back on the field as its last two home series' have been either postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather.  The Yellowjackets return to the road this weekend as they travel to Central Washington for a key Great Northwest Athletic Conference series.  The Jackets and Wildcats are scheduled for a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. Pacific time, followed by another doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. Pacific time. 

Fans can access live stats of the games by logging on to http://www.msubsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=baseball and clicking on the live stats link next to the Central Washington series.

The Western Oregon home series was postponed (Mar. 25-26) for later in the year, while a non-conference, three-game series with Colorado Christian (Mar. 29-30) was cancelled and will not be made up. 

MSUB has not played since splitting a four-game, Great Northwest Athletic Conference series at Northwest Nazarene Mar. 18-19.   The Jackets stand at 9-12 overall and 2-6 in conference play under first-year head coach Rob Bishop. 

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is sophomore Colby Robison who leads the team with a .372 average.  He has a team-high 29 hits, seven doubles and 21 RBIs.  Robison is second in slugging percentage (.564) and leads the team with a .433 on-base percentage. 

Senior Jeff Ridgeway, who earned GNAC Player of the Week honors Mar. 21, is second in average at a .328 clip.  He also is second in hits (22) and leads the team with four home runs, including three in the past six games.  Ridgeway leads the team with a .567 slugging percentage.  Fellow senior Sam Kinzeler also is over .300 at a .314 average.  He has 16 hits and is second on the squad in doubles with five. 

As a team, the Jackets are hitting .260 on the year with 172 hits, including 44 extra-base hits on 33 doubles, four triples and seven home runs.  MSUB is slugging .353 and is reaching base .354 percent of the time.  The Jackets have committed 29 errors for a .959 fielding percentage. 

On the mound, MSUB junior Kyle Gieselman leads the team with a 2.33 ERA.  He has appeared in eight games with one start and is 1-1 on the year.  His 19.1 innings of work is good for fourth on the team.  Senior Archie Smith leads the team with a 3-1 record all in relief. 

Junior Brian Hutchings is 2-2 on the year in five starts with a 2-2 record and a 3.98 ERA.  Hutchings leads the team with 31.2 innings pitched.  He has walked a team-low seven batters, while striking out 21, which is good for second on the team.  Senior Kody Kennedy leads the team with 25 strikeouts.  Senior Brian Howe leads the team with four saves.

As a staff, the Jackets have a 5.66 ERA in 160.2 innings of work.  They have allowed 185 hits, 119 runs – 101 earned runs, 73 walks and have fanned 115.  The opposition is hitting .296 against them and the 29 errors by the defense have led to 18 unearned runs.

Central Washington enters the week with a 6-16 record overall and a 1-11 record in the GNAC.  The Wildcats went 2-12 in the month of March and have dropped four-straight and seven of eight.

Leading the way for CWU this year is Brady Kincannon who has a .371 average with 26 hits and is tied for the team-lead with two home runs.    Glen Reser (.333 avg.) leads the team with 28 hits and has a team-high nine RBIs.  Nate Wallen is third in hits with 23 and carries a .371 average.

As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .286 on the year with 35 extra-base hits including 26 doubles, two triples and seven home runs.  They are slugging .354 and have an on-base percentage of .342.

On the bump, the Wildcats have been effective as they carry a 4.21 ERA in 177.1 innings.  Brandon Rohde leads the team with a 2.70 ERA and a 1-2 mark in seven appearances.  He leads the team with 40 innings pitched and has a team-high 33 strikeouts as the opposition is hitting just .258 against him.