BILLINGS, Mont. – After last weekend's out-of-conference series with Sioux Falls was rained out, the Montana State University Billings baseball team will be back in action this weekend for their final road trek of the season. The Yellowjackets are traveling to Ellensburg, Wash. where they will tangle with the Wildcats of Central Washington University in a four-game series.
 
The weekend Great Northwest Athletic Conference series will commence at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 4 with a doubleheader. It will then come to a close with a noon twinbill on Saturday, May 5.
 
The 'Jackets (19-19, 10-14 GNAC) are still in the thick of the race for second place in the conference after nationally-ranked Western Oregon University secured their 11^th-straight GNAC title this past weekend. The Wildcats (16-26, 8-16 GNAC) are currently last in the five-team conference race but are just two games behind MSUB.
 
As a team, MSUB is hitting at a .258 clip led by two players batting better than .300. Local product Ty Gilmore leads the team as a freshman and is second in the GNAC as he boasts a very respectable .387 batting average while sophomore Blake Loran is second on the team with a .318 average.
 
Gilmore, along with fellow freshman infielder Brody Miller, has started all 38 games this season and is in the top-10 in the conference in four other categories including second in on-base percentage (.485), third for hits (53) and walks (24) and 10^th for runs scored (30).
 
Junior shortstop Colby Robison is third on the team with a .294 batting average and is second in the conference with 15 stolen bases. Robison leads the team with 20 runs batted in and is second on the squad with 21 runs scored.
 
Two MSUB hurlers are currently in the top-10 in the conference for ERA lead by Samuel Paterson's fifth-best 4.36. Matt Eames is currently sixth with a 4.46.
 
Bobby Ragasa has been the Yellowjackets' go-to guy this season as he is 3-0 with four saves in 12 appearnaces this season. Only Travis Vincent matches Ragasa's 12 appearances on the mound.
 
Five players have fanned more than 30 batters this season led by Brady Muller and Brian Hutchings' 40 retired batters each. Paterson has retired 38 batters, Eames 37 and Ragasa 30.
 
Following the two-day series in Ellensburg, the Yellowjackets will return home for their final series of the regular-season. MSUB will welcome nationally-ranked Western Oregon to Dehler Park Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 for a four-game series. Saturday's doubleheader will also serve as “Senior Day” for the Yellowjackets' six seniors.
 
Central Washington
 
As a team, the Wildcats are currently batting a collective .306 led by Derrick Webb and Kyle Sani. Webb boasts the team's best batting average at .355 while Sani is close behind with a .352.
 
The duo, along with Brady Kincannon, leads the team with 50 hits each. Kincannon also leads the team in runs scored while Webb is second with 34. Sani leads the team with 32 runs batted in and 77 total bases.
 
Brett Bielec is the biggest threat on the bases for Central Washington as he has swiped six of nine bases this season.
 
On the mound, Drew Davidson leads the squad with a 4.12 ERA but a 1-2 record in 15 appearances but it is Brandon Rohde who leads the team with 45 strikeouts and Kyle Long has pitched a team-high 65.0 innings.