BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off of its first home series loss since the 2014 season, the Montana State University Billings baseball team will look to rebound this weekend as the Yellowjackets host Great Northwest Athletic Conference leader Northwest Nazarene University in a four-game series at Dehler Park.
 
After a schedule adjustment due to a poor weather forecast, the series will begin on Saturday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader and conclude on Monday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader, both days in the 9-inning/7-inning format. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for this weekend's series through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
The Yellowjackets (17-15, 11-12 GNAC) are coming off of a 3-1 series loss at home against Central Washington last week, bumping them into fourth place in the conference standings. The Wildcats are now 1.5 games ahead of MSUB in third place with a conference record of 12-10, and the top-three teams at the end of the season earn a berth into the GNAC Championships to be hosted by the regular-season champion.
 
"NNU is a really good, veteran team," said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. "We played pretty well at their place, but they are not a team that is going to give you games. We just need to come out and play a good series to get us back on our feet."
 

DURBIN COMING ALIVE AT THE PLATE: Continuing his hot hitting last week was senior third baseman Kyle Durbin, who went 8-for-14 in the series against the Wildcats. He also drew three walks, getting on base in 11 of 17 plate appearances on the weekend. Durbin has had three hits in three different games this year, and leads the team with a batting average of .358. The senior ranks fourth in the GNAC in hitting, tied for first in on-base percentage (.449), and fifth in total bases (56).
 
In Game 2 on Friday, Durbin atoned for a throwing error that cost his team two runs by leading off the very next inning with a double on the first pitch. The drive off the wall in right-center field kicked off a three-run rally and helped MSUB to its lone win of the weekend. Durbin is batting .457 (21-for-46) since March 20, and has also drawn 10 walks in that time span for an on-base percentage of .554.
 
MORE OUT OF MORRIS: Since an 0-for-13 slump through the end of March 26, senior shortstop Corey Morris is batting .409 (9-for-22) with seven RBIs and four walks drawn. Morris totaled six hits in last week's series, building a six-game hitting streak dating back to his last series against Saint Martin's.
 
Defensively, Morris has taken a step up with his glove and has committed just two errors in his last 50 chances. Up the middle he has been involved in 14 double plays on the year for the 'Jackets, and he also leads the conference in being hit by pitches with 10 on the season.
 
BACK-TO-BACK CGs FOR HAPE: Junior Matt Hape went the distance on the mound for the second week in-a-row, as he pitched MSUB to an 8-4 win in Game 2 against the Wildcats. In his seven-inning complete game, Hape allowed just two earned runs and had three strikeouts. Over his last two outings, Hape has given up just three earned runs and has nine strikeouts in 14 innings.
 
STERNHAGEN STAYS STRONG: Senior second baseman Colter Sternhagen handled all 18 of his chances defensively last week without an error, and has now gone 111 chances over 28 games without an error. He owns a fielding percentage of .977 on the year, and has been involved in 13 double plays including three turned last week that helped MSUB's pitching staff limit damage.
 
"Corey and I have great chemistry, and that's what you need in the middle infield," Sternhagen commented on his double-play partner up the middle. "NNU has good pitching and really strong bats, and that's what we noticed the first time we played them. This series we are going to focus on being aggressive at the plate and trying to score a lot of runs."
 
Having success at the plate as well, Sternhagen went 6-for-13 in the series and drew a pair of walks to reach base in half of his plate appearances. The senior nearly had his fifth home run of the season in Game 1, but settled for an RBI-triple as his long drive to left field kicked off the bricks at the top of the wall and caromed back towards the infield.
 
Sternhagen's 21 RBIs are tied for second most on the team, and he ranks fifth in the conference in that category. He is also tied for the team lead and second in the GNAC in doubles with nine, and is tied for fifth in

home runs with four. His 18 walks on the year are third-most in the conference.
 
Sternhagen is now tied for fourth in MSUB history in doubles with 30, and is fifth in RBIs with 80 through his three seasons with the 'Jackets.
 
MSUB Career Doubles Leaders

Rk.	Name	2B	Years
1.	Brody Miller	49	2012-15
2.	Luke Reinschmidt	35	2014-16
3.	Colby Robison	34	2011-13
4.	Jeff Ridgeway	30	2008-11
	Colter Sternhagen	30	2013-16

BAKER NOTHCES FOURTH STRAIGHT SCORELESS OUTING: After allowing two runs in his first appearance of the year, junior right-hander Bryon Baker has been nearly untouchable in relief since. Baker has totaled four strikeouts and allowed just three hits in 5 2/3 innings in his last four appearances. He has not allowed a run since his first game of the season, and holds an ERA of 2.84 on the mound.

TOUGH LOSS FOR COOP: Entering the weekend with a perfect record of 6-0, Cody Cooper turned in another excellent start in Game 3. Despite allowing just three runs in 7 1/3 innings, the 'Jackets scored two runs behind him as he took his first loss of the year. Cooper added two more strikeouts to remain as the GNAC's leader in that category with 59 on the year. He is now tied for third-most strikeouts in a single season and remains No. 4 in the school record books for career strikeouts with 117.
 
Pitching into the seventh inning in every start of the year, Cooper leads the conference in innings pitched with 62.0 and holds an earned run average of 2.61.

 
MSUB Single Season Strikeout Leaders

Rk.	Name	Ks	Year
1.	Brady Muller	79	2015
2.	Brady Muller	64	2013
3.	Kody Kennedy	59	2011
	Cody Cooper	59	2016
5.	Kody Kennedy	54	2010
	Brian Howe	54	2009
	Tanner Johnson	54	2015

 
JOHNSON SOLID THROUGH SIX: Taking a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning for MSUB in the series-opener, senior Tanner Johnson set his team up for a chance to win Game 1 as he scattered six hits through 6 2/3 innings. One of those hits was a three-run home run however, as CWU got back into the game late and went on to win it in the ninth.
 
Johnson added two more strikeouts to his ledger, pushing his career total to 97 as he seeks to become the sixth player in MSUB history to reach 100 career strikeouts.

MSUB Career Strikeout Leaders

Rk.	Name	Ks	Year
1.	Brady Muller	232	2012-15
2.	Brian Howe	143	2008-11
3.	Brian Hutchings	120	2010-12
4.	Cody Cooper	117	2014-16
5.	Kody Kennedy	113	2010-11
6.	Samuel Paterson	98	2012-13
7.	Tanner Johnson	97	2015-16

NEVER TOO LATE FOR LEIGHTON: Standing in as a pinch hitter in Game 3 of the series against the 'Cats, true freshman Alec Leighton delivered a double into the left-field corner and came around to score one of MSUB's two runs. Immediately after his pinch hit in the sixth, Leighton made a diving snag on a sinking line drive in left field with the first batter of the next inning at the plate.
 
"I originally thought it was coming right at me, but it kept tailing and I tracked it down and made the catch," Leighton commented on his diving play. "I've really been working in practice on trying to stay through the ball (at the plate), and I just tried to relax and tell myself not to try to do too much."
 
Leighton also had an RBI-single in Game 1 of the series, and he earned two of his five starts on the year over the weekend. Two of the freshman's three hits this season have been doubles, and he has driven in three runs as well.
 
LUKE BREAKS OUT: Going 3-for-4 in the series finale, senior center fielder Luke Reinschmidt had his first three-hit game since going 5-for-6 against Northwest Nazarene on March 12. After going 0-for-5 in the series opener, Reinschmidt went 5-for-12 the rest of the series against the Wildcats. After his first hit of Game 4, Reinschmidt promptly stole second and third consecutively to push his season tally of stolen bases to nine. The two steals moved Reinschmidt into third place in the MSUB record books with 29 in his career, and he needs six more to pass the Yellowjackets' all-time leader, Colby Robison (34).
 
MSUB Career Stolen Bases Leaders

Rk.	Name	SB	Year
1.	Colby Robison	34	2011-13
2.	Kyle Pryor	32	2006-07
3.	Luke Reinschmidt	29	2014-16
4.	Austin Rue	28	2011-13
5.	Willie Crtalic	26	2006-07

Reinschmidt continues to lead the GNAC in RBIs with 30, and remains No. 9 on the conference's career RBIs list with 113 through his three seasons at MSUB.
 
GNAC Career Runs Batted In Leaders

Rk.	Name	School	RBIs	Years
1.	Greg McCarthy	WOU	183	2002-05
	Jamie Nilsen	CWU	183	2005-08
3.	Bryce Gardinier	WOU	165	2000-03
4.	Brody Miller	MSUB	158	2012-15
5.	Chandler Tracy	SMU	138	2012-15
6.	Sean McDonald	NNU	125	2009-12
7.	Matt Lowe	NNU	124	2000-03
8.	Adam Siler	SMU	118	2004-07
9.	Luke Reinschmidt	MSUB	113	2014-16
10.	Colby Robison	MSUB	111	2011-13

 
TOON TIES SEASON HIGH IN PUTOUTS: Snagging 13 putouts in Game 3 of the series, senior first baseman Kevin Toon matched his season-high in that category for the third time this year. Toon had 30 total putouts in the series against the 'Cats, and is now just eight shy of MSUB's all-time record of 623 held by 2015 graduate Blake Loran.

Toon leads the GNAC in fielding percentage (1.000), as he has made 227 plays defensively without an error in 31 games played. The senior also had four hits, three runs, and a pair of RBIs at the plate, and drew his GNAC-leading 23rd walk of the year.
 
MSUB Career Putouts Leaders

 

Rk.	Name	PO	Year
1.	Blake Loran	623	2011-15
2.	Kevin Toon	615	2014-16
3.	Matt Kakalecik	530	2006-08
4.	Seth Moir	397	2007-08
5.	Jake Samuelson	336	2006-07
	Conner Holbrook	336	2014-15

ROBINSON COMES THROUGH WITH GAME-WINNER: In MSUB's lone win in the series, junior Zach Robinson pushed his team ahead with an RBI-single in the fifth inning to break a 4-4 deadlock. The swing of the bat kicked off a four-run rally, as the 'Jackets backed Hape in an 8-4 victory. Robinson went 3-for-10 overall on the weekend, and also drew a walk and stole a base for the 'Jackets.
 
SMITH TOSSES SCORELESS FRAME: Corbin Smith was outstanding in his third appearance of the season in the final game of the series, tossing a perfect seventh inning to keep MSUB in the game. The junior has not allowed an earned run in his last two appearances overall.
 
WATSON A PINCH-HITTING PHENOM: Stepping up in a 4-4 ballgame on Friday, junior Tanner Watson delivered an RBI-single to give MSUB the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1. It was the third pinch-hit, RBI-single Watson has delivered this season, and he is 4-for-11 with four RBIs overall in a pinch hitting role.
 
WINSLOW DELIVERS ANOTHER ZERO: Freshman right-hander Jared Winslow did not allow an earned run for his third straight appearance, as he pitched 1 1/3 innings in scoreless relief in Game 1 of the series. He has put up zeroes in four of his eight appearances on the season, and has 16 strikeouts overall in 21 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders
Saturday, April 16 – 3 PM DOUBLEHEADER (9-Inn./7-Inn.)
Monday, April 18 – 1 PM DOUBLEHEADER (9-Inn./7-Inn.)
2016 Record: 20-14, 15-9 GNAC (1st)
Head Coach: Rocke Musgraves, 3rd Season
Last Series: MSUB 2, NNU 2 (March 11-12 at Nampa, Idaho)
Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box | Game 3 Box | Game 4 Box
 
Entering the weekend as the conference leader, Northwest Nazarene is in the midst of a 12-game road trip. Last week, the Crusaders split with Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Wash., with NNU winning the first and third games and the Saints taking the two 7-inning games.
 
NNU has split its last two series and three overall on the year including the team's first encounter with the 'Jackets in March in Idaho. The Crusaders have not lost a GNAC series this season, and defeated Western Oregon 3-1 and Central Washington 3-1 in back-to-back series to establish command atop the conference standings.
 
Led by its stellar pitching staff, NNU has used just five different starters this season and has three who have pitched at least 36 innings. Leading the pack is GNAC Pitcher of the Year candidate Colton Loomis, who has 48 strikeouts and 14 walks in 60 2/3 innings with a 1.48 ERA. Among his GNAC-leading six complete games are a pair of shutouts, including a no-hitter against Azusa Pacific University on Feb. 19 in California.
 
Jaramy Jacobs leads the staff with 53 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings, and Ross Clevenger holds a 3.40 ERA in 50 1/3 innings. Justin Pilgrim is NNU's other starter, with an ERA of 4.25 in 36 innings. Ryan Nyborg has been the top reliever for the 'Saders, with 19 strikeouts and just six walks with a 2.79 ERA in 19 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Nyborg's six saves lead the GNAC.
 
Offensively, Ryan Johnson leads the team with a .364 batting average and Tyler Davis leads the GNAC in home runs with 10. Davis' 29 RBIs are second in the league to Reinschmidt's 30, and Andrew Helmstadter's 10 doubles lead the GNAC. Johnson is the league leader in stolen bases with 16, and is tied with MSUB's Durbin for the league lead in on-base percentage at .449.
 
NNU ranks second as a team in fielding percentage at .970, and has scored more runs than any other team in the GNAC (180). The Crusaders also have the second-best ERA as a staff at 4.03, and their 225 strikeouts lead the conference.
 
The Series: MSUB continues to lead the all-time series at 39-38 after the split earlier this year. MSUB and NNU are 20-20 against each other in games played at Dehler Park, but the Crusaders have won the last two games in Billings including an 8-6 triumph in last year's GNAC Championships. MSUB is 11-4 overall against NNU in the last 15 games.
 
Last Time Out: Each team won a close game and a blowout, as each team scored 19 runs total in the four games played in Nampa.