BILLINGS, Mont. – Making its 2016 home debut this weekend, the Montana State University Billings baseball team returns to Dehler Park to kick off an eight-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference home stand against Concordia University (Ore.) starting Saturday.
 
The Yellowjackets (9-8, 3-5 GNAC) started their season with 17 straight road games, and will play 16 of their next 20 at home. Action starts this weekend with four games against Concordia, and continues next weekend with a four-game home series against Western Oregon University. On both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, first pitch is set for 1 p.m., with 9-inning/7-inning doubleheaders scheduled for each day.
 
Tickets are $5 for general admission, and are $3 for seniors (65-plus), students in grades 7-12, and MSUB faculty and staff. MSUB students and children in sixth grade and under are admitted free. All-sport ticket packages are also available at 25 tickets for $100 and 10 tickets for $45, and are good for all home MSUB spring sporting events (36 home baseball and softball games this spring). For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact MSUB Athletics at 406-657-2369 or sports@msubillings.edu. Tickets and game programs will also be available at the gate.
 
This weekend's games will also feature live video with play-by-play commentary, and live statistics through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
"We need to do what we can to win a GNAC series and get ourselves into the running for the top of the conference," commented senior Luke Reinschmidt. "Concordia is a great pitching team, and they are going to compete. We have to pitch well and defend in order to beat this team, and if we do that I think we can be successful."
 
The reigning GNAC regular-season champions, MSUB is coming off of a split on the road against Northwest Nazarene University, winning the middle two games in a four-game series and losing the opener and closer. It was MSUB's second conference series of the year, after going 1-3 in the four-game opener at Central Washington University two weeks ago.
 
"I fully expect Concordia to come in and be a competitive team," said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. "We are going to have to show up ready to go and defend our home park."
 
REINSCHMIDT HONORED AGAIN: Picking up his second GNAC Player of the Week award of the season and fourth of his career, Reinschmidt had another big weekend at the plate for the 'Jackets. His 5-for-6 performance in the third game of the series made him the first-ever at MSUB with two career five-hit games, and he added two home runs, six RBIs, and two more stolen bases to his ledger.
 
Perhaps his most important swing of the bat came in MSUB's 3-2 win on Friday, as his solo home run off of NNU ace Colton Loomis proved to be the game-winner in the narrow victory.
 
In addition to his production at the plate, Reinschmidt has been outstanding defensively in center field. He leads the GNAC in outfield assists with three, and has not made an error in 40 total chances.
 
"It's always fun to try to throw people out," Reinschmidt commented. "I like to think of it as a challenge, and it makes the game more fun to see someone coming around third and know you have a chance to throw him out."
 
With his six RBIs last week, Reinschmidt moved up the GNAC career chart to No. 12 as he has 106 in his third season. He is also into the top-20 in career home runs with 17 (T-16th) and is tied for fourth in career triples with 10.
 
GNAC Career Runs Batted In Leaders

 

Rk.	Name	School	RBIs	Years Played
1.	Greg McCarthy	Western Oregon	183	2002-05
	Jamie Nilsen	Central Washington	183	2005-08
3.	Bryce Gardinier	Western Oregon	165	2000-03
4.	Brody Miller	MSU Billings	158	2012-15
5.	Chandler Tracy	Saint Martin's	138	2012-15
6.	Sean McDonald	Northwest Nazarene	125	2009-12
7.	Matt Lowe	Northwest Nazarene	124	2000-03
8.	Adam Siler	Saint Martin's	118	2004-07
9.	Colby Robison	MSU Billings	111	2011-13
10.	Shane Schoeneberg	Saint Martin's	110	2005, 2007-09
	Kasey Bielec	Central Washington	110	2012-15
12.	Luke Reinschmidt	MSU Billings	106	2014-16

WINSLOW WINS ONE FOR 'JACKETS: Taking over with the tying run in scoring position at second base Friday, freshman right-hander Jared Winslow took the hill and baffled NNU's hitters through 2 2/3 perfect innings. Winslow had two strikeouts and did not allow a baserunner, as he earned his first-ever save. Winslow has been called upon to eat up innings out of the bullpen, as he has pitched more than two innings in each of his four relief appearances this season.
 
"It was a big spot and high intensity, and we felt like if we won that game it would reverse a downward trend," Winslow said. "I felt like I just needed to go in and trust my stuff. I have a great group of guys behind me so I knew if I just threw strikes they would make plays for me. It's nice to have that feeling behind you."
 
HAPE HAS BEST START: Junior right-hander Matt Hape had his best start of the season on Friday, as he kept NNU at bay over 4 1/3 innings before handing the ball off to Winslow. Hape had five strikeouts against two walks, allowing two runs on four hits. The victory was the first as a Yellowjacket for the transfer from Salt Lake Community College, as he has tossed 13 innings over four starts this season.
 

CG FOR COOPER: Junior Cody Cooper continued his strong start to the year with his best outing to date, as he tossed his first-ever nine-inning complete game and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts on Saturday. Cooper allowed just one earned run and nine baserunners, as he scattered five hits in the game.
 
MSUB has won all four games Cooper has started this season, and he holds an ERA of 2.64 with 34 strikeouts against just five walks. He has pitched into the seventh inning in all four of his starts, and has two 10-strikeout games on the year.
 
DURBIN ON THE RISE: Entering last weekend's series batting .302, senior third baseman Kyle Durbin upped the mark to .321 with another productive stretch at the plate. His performance in Game 3 highlighted his weekend, as he doubled and homered in the Yellowjackets' big 11-2 win over the Crusaders. Durbin also had a big swing of the bat in MSUB's 3-2 win, as his RBI-single in the second inning gave his team a 1-0 lead early in the game.
 
TOON LEADING GNAC IN OBP: Senior first baseman Kevin Toon is leading the GNAC in on-base percentage at .473, as his conference-best 16 walks drawn are twice as many as the next-closest players' total of eight. Toon is batting .321 on the year and is tied for the team high in doubles with six. Perfect defensively at first base thus far, Toon has made 115 plays without an error and has a career fielding percentage of .994. Toon had an 18-game hitting streak snapped last weekend, a mark that tied him for the ninth-longest streak in GNAC history and third-longest in MSUB history behind only Austin Rue's mark of 27 games in 2013 and Jonathan Schlender's mark of 21 games in 2008.
 
FOUR FROM MORRIS: Senior shortstop Corey Morris had a hit in each of the four games last week, and was also hit by three pitches as he got on base seven times in 15 plate appearances. Morris has had an assist at short in every game this season, and has multiple assists in 14 of 17 games. His 41 total assists on the year rank him third in the GNAC.
 
PETERSON A ROCK BEHIND THE PLATE: Leading the GNAC in total fielding chances this season with 132, sophomore catcher Landon Peterson has caught seven of his team's eight conference games. He has caught six runners stealing which ranks second in the conference, and he went 3-for-10 with three runs scored at the plate against the Crusaders in a solid offensive showing.
 
STERNHAGEN AT SECOND: Senior second baseman Colter Sternhagen has elevated his game defensively as of late, stringing together 44 consecutive chances over his last 13 games without an error. Sternhagen is

also tied for the team high in doubles with six, and is one of four Yellowjackets to be in double figures in RBIs with 11.
 
LEIGHTON BRINGS HOME A PAIR: Freshman Alec Leighton had his first career double and RBIs last week, as he came through in a pinch-hit role in Game 1 of the series. Called upon with runners on second and third and two outs, Leighton drove the ball down the left-field line and plated two runs for the 'Jackets.
 
BUSTO BREAKS INTO TOP-10 IN CAREER APPEARANCES: Making his GNAC-leading 13th relief appearance of the season last week, senior right-hander Lee Busto moved to No. 10 in GNAC history with 64 career appearances.
 
GNAC Career Pitching Appearance Leaders

Rk.	Name	School	App.	Years Played
1.	Kalen Hruza	Northwest Nazarene	85	2008-11
2.	Tip Wonhoff	Saint Martin's	80	2004-07
3.	Kaleb Wilson	Saint Martin's	77	2008-12
4.	Nick Patee	Northwest Nazarene	74	2003-06
5.	Chase Decoito	Saint Martin's	71	2012-15
6.	Anthony LaDue	Saint Martin's	69	2010, 2012-14
7.	Aaron Stuvland	Northwest Nazarene	67	2002-05
8.	Ryan Brown	Northwest Nazarene	66	2009-12
	Brad Banker	Saint Martin's	66	2012-15
10.	Lee Busto	MSU Billings	64	2013-16

 
Concordia University (Ore.) Cavaliers
Saturday, March 19 – 1 PM – DOUBLEHEADER (9 Inn./7 Inn.)
Sunday, March 20 – 1 PM – DOUBLEHEADER (9 Inn./7 Inn.)
Dehler Park, Billings, MT
2016 Record: 4-12, 2-4 GNAC
Head Coach: Rob Vance, 17th season
2015 Record: 32-23, 19-9 CCC (NAIA)
 
Splitting their first-ever GNAC series against Western Oregon two weeks ago, the Cavaliers are off to a 2-4 start to their league schedule. CU lost a pair of games at Central Washington last weekend, but the last two games of the series were postponed due to rain.
 
The Cavs' strong point is their pitching staff, led by starter Harrison McGhee who has 22 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings over five starts. McGhee has just eight walks on the year and has posted an ERA of 3.98. Gerhett Moser has also started five games this season, holding an ERA of 5.12 in a team-high 31 2/3 innings pitched.
 
CU has four relievers with ERAs below 2.60, and Austin Hadley has played a dual role as a starter and reliever. Holding an ERA of 2.00, Hadley earned a save against Sonoma State on Feb. 20, and then tossed a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 victory over Western Oregon with 10 strikeouts.
 
Offensively, Henry Rondeau and Kyle Henderson are CU's top regular starters, batting .323 and .308, respectively. Henderson leads the team with four doubles, and has an on-base percentage of .426. Tanner Williams has a team-best seven RBIs, and Christian Heideger is off to a hot start batting 5-for-10 with a home run and four RBIs.
 
As a team CU is sixth in the GNAC with a batting average of .204 and is averaging 2.63 runs per game while allowing 4.56.
 
The Series: The Cavaliers have won 2 of 3 games between the teams, all of which were played in Portland, Ore.
 
Last Time Out: Toon went 1-for-3 as the 'Jackets lost a battle 6-5 on March 3, 2014 in Portland.