BILLINGS, Mont. – Twenty games down, and eight to go before the Montana State University Billings baseball team makes its 2015 home debut, which is set for March 27 against Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Saint Martin's University at Dehler Park.
Until then, MSUB will return to the road for a four-game series against Western Oregon this weekend followed by four more at Northwest Nazarene the following weekend.
This week's series in Monmouth, Ore., is set to begin on Friday with a 2 p.m. Mountain time first pitch in a doubleheader at the WOU baseball field. The teams will play another doubleheader on Saturday, with a 1 p.m. Mountain time start. Live statistics will be available for all games in the series via
www.msubsports.com.
"We feel like we should be able to go anywhere any time and compete with anyone," commented MSUB head coach
Rob Bishop. "How Western's preseason has gone and how our preseason has gone are very similar, and both of us are much better than our records show. We have both played against great competition, and the last two years there we have played really good baseball."
The Yellowjackets (7-13, 2-2 GNAC) are coming off a pair of big victories to close the series at Cal Baptist last week. Behind a great start by
Tanner Johnson last Friday, MSUB rallied and overcame a 3-1 deficit for a 6-3 victory. The Yellowjackets' offense then caught fire in the series finale, posting eight runs in the first inning on Saturday en route to a 15-7 victory.
The 'Jackets lost the first two games in the series by the score of 4-3, and set a GNAC record for the longest game in conference history when their bout against the Lancers lasted 16 innings last Thursday.
In MSUB's win on Friday, senior second baseman
Brody Miller became the program's all-time hits leader, lashing a double in the fifth inning to give him 214 in his four-year career. The previous mark was held by Matt Schoonover (2007-10), and Miller now ranks seventh in GNAC history in hits with 215.
GNAC 200 Hit Club| Rk. | Hits | Name | School | Years Played |
| 1 | 295 | Jamie Nilsen | Central Washington | 2005-08 |
| 2 | 276 | Joey Price | Western Oregon | 1999-02 |
| 3 | 241 | Sean McDonald | Northwest Nazarene | 2009-12 |
| 4 | 235 | Greg McCarthy | Western Oregon | 2002-05 |
| 5 | 222 | Shane Schoeneberg | Saint Martin's | 2005, 2007-09 |
| 6 | 218 | Bryce Gardinier | Western Oregon | 2000-03 |
| 7 | 215 | Brody Miller | MSU Billings | 2012-15 |
| 8 | 209 | Travis Chetock | Western Oregon | 2000-03 |
| 9 | 204 | Matt Lowe | Northwest Nazarene | 2000-03 |
MILLER, MULLER MOVING UP: While Miller continues to rewrite the MSUB record books, senior left-hander
Brady Muller is taking care of the pitching side as he became the Yellowjackets' career leader in innings pitched with his start last week. He is also steadily ascending the GNAC ranks, as his 34 strikeouts this season rank fourth in the league. His 10.09 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-best mark behind reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Year Brandon Williams's 13.14, and Colben McGuire of Northwest Nazarene is the only other pitcher to average more than 10 in that category among qualifiers.
"It's good to see Brady get over the hump and have two or three good starts in-a-row," Bishop said. "I am really confident in our guys and whoever we throw out there that we can compete."
Miller has raised his batting average to .369, which ranks seventh in the conference and second on the team. His 19 RBIs are tied for third-most in the GNAC, and he has an on-base percentage of .450 and a slugging percentage of .607. The second baseman has not made an error in his last 52 chances, holding a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over his last 11 games. Miller is also the owner of a modest six-game hitting streak, and has reached base in each of his last nine games.
"Last weekend was really good for us down in California, and we got some momentum rolling as a team," Miller said. "The extra-inning games are a big wear and tear on the body, but we just have to stay positive and keep playing with confidence."
MORE FROM COREY: Catching fire at the plate last week was infielder
Corey Morris, who is now seven for his last 16 at the plate. He has raised his season batting average to a team-best .392 and he ranks fourth in the conference in that category.
REINSCHMIDT'S HITTING STREAK: With a single hit in every game last week, junior center fielder
Luke Reinschmidt extended his hitting streak to 10 games and held his lofty batting average at .341. His 24 RBIs lead the GNAC and his six home runs rank second to Saint Martin's Chandler Tracy (8). Earlier in the year, Reinschmidt was just the second player in GNAC history to earn the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association National Player of the Week honor, after he hit four home runs over an eight-game stretch at Dixie State.
STERNHAGEN'S DOUBLE EFFORT: With three doubles in the series finale against Cal Baptist, junior third baseman
Colter Sternhagen simultaneously tied a GNAC single-game record and assumed command of the top spot in the conference. No player has ever hit four doubles in a game in conference history, and Sternhagen became the 30th to total three. On the season he now has a GNAC-best 11 two-baggers and has bumped his batting average north of .300 at .312 in 19 starts.
QUALITY ROTATION: Jake Campeau and Johnson have followed Muller's lead on the mound, each finding a groove and pitching well as of late. Between the trio, eight of their last 11 combined starts have been quality ones, in which they have thrown at least six innings and allowed four or fewer earned runs.
Campeau has walked just five batters in the 21 1/3 innings he has thrown, and has not walked a batter over his last two starts. Johnson has lowered his ERA to a team-best 3.76, and had arguably his best start of the season against Cal Baptist Friday. In eight innings, Johnson scattered six hits and walked two while striking out seven and allowing three earned runs.
OTHER NOTES FROM LAST WEEK: Reliever
Lee Busto, who leads the team in appearances with 13, made three last week and totaled two perfect innings and three strikeouts…with seven extra-base hits against Cal Baptist on Saturday, MSUB became just the second team this season to have six or more in a single game…the Yellowjackets have five total games with six or more extra-base hits, and no other GNAC team has more than one such game against Division II opposition.
As a team the Yellowjackets are batting a GNAC-best .304, 10 points higher than the next closest team (Northwest Nazarene, .294). The 'Jackets average 7.05 runs per game, and a GNAC-best 4.3 walks per game. MSUB is reaching base at a clip of .384 and slugging .421, and its 228 hits are the most in the conference as well.
On the mound the 'Jackets have a team ERA of 7.11 and have struck out 142 while walking 106.
Friday, March 13 – 2 p.m. MTN – Monmouth, OR – DOUBLEHEADERSaturday, March 14 – 1 p.m. MTN – Monmouth, OR – DOUBLEHEADERWestern Oregon University Wolves2015 Record: 10-14, 6-2 GNACHead Coach: Kellen Walker, 3rd season2014 GNAC Finish: 1st (30-21, 22-10 GNAC) Standing as the 13-time reigning GNAC regular season champions and host of the first two GNAC Baseball Championship tournaments, the Wolves of Western Oregon have begun their 2015 campaign with a 10-14 overall record and a strong 6-2 start in GNAC play.
After six-straight losses to open the season, WOU has responded and won its first two conference sets 3-1 over Saint Martin's and Central Washington. Most recently, the Wolves suffered a 4-1 Game 1 loss to Central Washington, before storming back to win the next three over the Wildcats and take the series.
WOU is being led by Matt Taylor, who is batting .355 with seven doubles and 15 RBIs and reaching base at a clip of .406. Garret Harpole has supplied the majority of the power for the Wolves, leading the team with four home runs and 20 RBIs while slugging .520.
Cody Poznanski has proven to be a threat on the base paths with five stolen bags in six attempts, and Nathan Etheridge joins Taylor and Harpole as one of three Wolves to have 10 or more RBIs.
The Wolves have a solid cast of pitchers, and Darrien Moran and Jesse Pratt have been the most consistent among starters with ERAs of 2.93 and 3.19, respectively. Pratt's 32 strikeouts are fourth-most in the conference, and he has logged the lone complete game of the year for WOU.
The Wolves' bullpen has been outstanding as well, with Brady Miller leading the way with a 0.75 ERA in a team-high 10 appearances. Miller has 10 strikeouts against six walks in 12 innings, and has allowed only one earned run so far. Shawn Domke and Michael Bennett have both been solid also in relief roles combining for just 10 walks in 23 1/3 innings. Also earning a save this season was Jacob Storedahl, who holds a 1.12 ERA in eight innings pitched over nine appearances.
As a team WOU ranks No. 2 in the GNAC in pitching with an ERA of 4.24 and has 156 strikeouts against 95 walks in 193 1/3 innings.
The Series: The 'Jackets have an all-time 9-49 record against the Wolves, and are 5-24 on the road against WOU.
Last Time Out: The Wolves won both of the four-game sets played between the teams last year, 3-1.
