PORTLAND, Ore.- Montana State University Billings Baseball team will play their final regular season games of the year at home as they play host to Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe, Northwest Nazarene University with the third and final berth to the GNAC Championships up for grabs. 
 
MSUB is one of the three remaining teams left in contention to earn the playoff berth.  It will be an uphill battle as MSUB has the most ground to make up of the three teams. 
 
The Yellowjackets are currently 9-17 in league play while Saint Martin's University is 11-15 and NNU is 11-17.  To clinch the third and final spot, the Yellowjackets need four wins if Saint Martin's University loses at least three games to Central Washington University, or with five wins if SMU loses at least two games to CWU, or with six wins if SMU loses at least one game to CWU.
 
MSUB is hosting NNU for six games due to weather that canceled games three and four (of a four game series) at NNU.  Game three will be played on Thursday, May 1st and will begin in the top of the seventh inning with MSUB leading 9-8.  Game four will be played at the conclusion of game three followed by the normal four game home series for MSUB on Friday and Saturday.  
 
"This weekend is an example of what makes college athletics fun," head coach Rob Bishop said.  "Three teams competing for the final playoff spot. It should be great fun competing and I know our guys are looking forward to getting back out on the field."
 
Last week saw MSUB in a four game series to CWU 1-3.  The Yellowjackets won game one 15-7 and had 20 total hits.  Then they lost game two 0-10, game three 6-20 and fell in the finale 3-7. 
 
Brody Miller dropped from the number one spot in terms of batting average for the first time this season.  He is now ranked number two in the GNAC with a batting average of .395, narrowly behind the conference leader, Ethan Sterkel of CWU who is hitting .397.  He is also second in slugging percentage (.605), first in on base percentage (.489), first in hits (60), fifth in RBI's (30) and is tied with teammate Luke Reinschmidt for a league leading 14 doubles.
 
Reinschmidt is seventh in the GNAC with a .349 batting average, fourth in slugging percentage (.550), fifth in hits (52) and leads the league in triples (5).
 
Kevin Toon is third in the GNAC and second on the team with a batting average of .368.  He has 43 hits on the season with nine doubles and 22 RBIs.
 
Friday May 2nd. MSUB will honor the four seniors of this year's team.  Joe Andriolo, Brad Birch, Matt Eames and Drew Fosnes will all be honored prior to the first pitch being thrown out on Friday. 
 
Andriolo has a 1-4 record this season with an ERA of 6.21 and a GNAC ERA of 5.73.  He has appeared in 13 games while starting four of them. In 37.2 innings, Andriolo has accounted for 14 strikeouts and has a .714 fielding percentage.  

This season, Birch has a .264 batting average, is fifth on the team with a .438 slugging percentage, carries a .357 on base percentage and a .838 fielding percentage.  He also is second on the team and sixth in the conference with 29 RBIs on 38 hits from 144 at bats.  Birch is tied for fifth in the GNAC with 11 doubles, one triple and is second on the team and sixth in the GNAC with four homeruns. 
 
This season for MSUB, Eames is 2-4 and is ranked 11th in the GNAC with an ERA of 5.62.  He leads the Yellowjackets in innings pitched with 49.2 and is fifth with 22 strikeouts.  For his career, Eames is ranked second All-time with two shutouts in a season and is second with two in a career.
 
This season for the Yellowjackets, Fosnes is batting .205 has a .279 slugging percentage, .293 on base percentage and a .923 fielding percentage.  He has appeared in 35 games and has 122 at bats recording 25 hits, seven doubles, one triple and 18 RBIs. 

Stats and live video for all the games can be found at MSUBSPORTS.COM