BILLINGS, Mont. – Gearing up for Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this weekend, the Montana State University Billings baseball team is getting set to face Central Washington on the road in a pair of doubleheaders.
 
The Yellowjackets (3-9) will then continue their road trip next week, heading to Riverside, Calif., to face California Baptist in four single games March 4-7. Live statistics will be available for both the series against CWU in Ellensburg, Wash., as well as the series against Cal Baptist, via www.msubsports.com.
 
"We will have our hands full on the road against Central Washington," said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. "Anybody can show up on any day in the GNAC and beat you, so we tried to play the best possible preseason schedule to prepare us."
 
MSUB is coming off two straight victories over Minot State University, which closed an eight-game road trip in St. George, Utah. The 'Jackets defeated MSU in comeback, extra-inning fashion 7-6 on Feb. 21, before storming to a 15-1 victory the next day over the Beavers.
 
Yellowjacket junior center fielder Luke Reinschmidt made headlines Wednesday, becoming just the second player in GNAC history to earn National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association National Player of the Week plaudits, after he homered four times, had three doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs in MSUB's eight games last week.
 
"Personally I am just so happy for Luke because he has worked his tail off," said Bishop with regard to Reinschmidt's performance. "He is solid on the field and off the field in every way, and he competed against really high-level pitching very well."
 
Overall on the season Reinschmidt is batting .340 and has five home runs with 18 RBIs and three stolen bases. "Luckily I was getting a lot of fastballs, and that has to do with me batting in front of All-American Brody Miller," Reinschmidt said, crediting the Yellowjackets' No. 3 hitter as having a hand in his success. "That gives me a lot of good pitches to hit, and I was just focusing on getting a pitch I liked early in the count and swinging."
 
MSUB senior starter Brady Muller also had a terrific outing against Minot State on Sunday, tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts and pitching six strong innings to propel MSUB to the victory. Muller now has 19 strikeouts against just six walks in 14 innings pitched this season in three starts.
 
Junior shortstop Kyle Durbin has opened the season on fire as well, batting .396 (19-for-48) early on in 11 starts out of the leadoff spot in the Yellowjackets' lineup. He has also had a hand in four double plays, and one triple play, that ended up on ESPN's SportsCenter Top-10 plays on Feb. 8.
 
Senior right fielder Bret Bitow has also thrived at the plate for the 'Jackets, batting .383 (18-for-47) and slugging .596 with three doubles, two triples and a home run in his first dozen games.
 
Brody Miller has begun setting career records, as he entered the 2015 season on the verge of virtually every top mark in the Yellowjacket record books which date back to the 2006 season. On the season, the senior second baseman is hitting .327 (17-for-52) with three home runs, 11 RBIs, four doubles and seven runs scored.
 
So far, Miller has become the MSUB career leader in runs (99), doubles (35), home runs (15), RBIs (115), and total bases (283). Entering Saturday's games, he is No. 2 in at-bats (576), hits (201) and No. 3 in assists (368).
 
Kevin Toon has also started all 12 games for the 'Jackets, carrying a .318 batting average (14-for-44) and getting on base at a clip of .434 while driving in 10 runs.
 
On the mound, Tanner Johnson has posted the best numbers thus far, spreading 14 innings over three appearances and holding a 3.86 ERA. Against Minot State on Sunday, he earned his first save of the season as he tossed three strong innings in relief of Muller's quality start.
 
"I thought Brady did really well and I was able to come through and have a good relief outing," said Johnson. "We are constantly grinding and fighting for every run that we get, and we feel like we have been in every game this year."
 
Griffen Pape has also shown promise early on, striking out 10 batters in his first eight innings of the season including a start against Dixie State on Feb. 20.
 
As a team the 'Jackets are averaging 6.8 runs per game and have totaled 37 extra-base hits this season.
 
Saturday, Feb. 28 – 1 p.m. MTN – CWU Baseball Field – Doubleheader (9 Inn, 7 Inn)
Sunday, March 1 – 1 p.m. MTN – CWU Baseball Field – Doubleheader (9 Inn, 7 Inn)
Central Washington University Wildcats
2015 Record: 5-3
Head Coach: Desi Storey, 24th season
2014 GNAC Finish: 2nd (31-18, 17-14 GNAC, GNAC Tournament Champions)
 
The reigning GNAC Tournament Champions have started off the 2015 season 5-3 and most recently lost a four-game series against Sonoma State three games to one. CWU opened its season with four-straight victories over GNAC opponent Saint Martin's (in nonconference action), during which the Wildcats outscored the Saints 30-9.
 
CWU's roster features the reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Year in Brandon Williams, who threw a no-hitter against Saint Martin's in a 9-0 victory on Feb. 7 in Ellensburg, Wash. Williams had 13 strikeouts and no walks in the game, and only a hit batsmen prevented his outing from being a perfect game.
 
On the season, Williams is the owner of a 1.69 ERA and has struck out 17 batters in 10 2/3 innings in two starts. Mitch Yada has been another outstanding starter for the Wildcats, holding an ERA of 1.08 and striking out eight in 8 1/3 innings over two starts.
 
Zach Johnson has also started a pair of games, throwing 11 1/3 strong innings with an ERA of 1.59 early on. Reigning GNAC Newcomer of the Year Cory Welch has already recorded two saves this season, and has 13 strikeouts in 7 1/3 relief innings out of the bullpen.
 
Offensively, CWU is averaging 4.75 runs per game, and the Wildcats have scored more by manufacturing runs rather than with gaudy power numbers. Kasey Bielec, a first-team all-GNAC selection in 2014, is batting .478 (11-for-23) early on with five extra-base hits and a team-high six RBIs. Benjamin Dunbar is close behind, batting .474 (9-for-19) in five starts for the Wildcats.
 
Catcher Zach Reay (.444) and Ryan Atkinson (.412) are also hitting above .400 for the Wildcats. Bielec, Dunbar, and Reay have combined to play perfect defense, with no errors in 129 combined chances between the three.
 
The Series: The all-time series between the teams has been relatively even, with CWU holding a slight 32-31 edge dating back to the 2006 season. The Wildcats have won three of the last four games between the teams, and won five of the eight meetings between the two last season. The series is even at 16 wins apiece for the teams in games played at CWU.
 
Last Time Out: The Yellowjackets picked up a big 15-7 victory in the first of a four-game series in Billings last spring, but the Wildcats responded by taking the next three games at Dehler Park. Williams was dominant in a 7-inning, complete game shutout in which he struck out eight, walked one and gave up just three hits propelling CWU to a 10-0 win on April 25, 2014.