BILLINGS, Mont. – Northwest Nazarene University will play host to the Montana State University Billings baseball team this weekend, as Great Northwest Athletic Conference play rolls on.
 
The Yellowjackets are tied for second place in the early GNAC standings, and enter this weekend's series with an overall record of 13-9 and a mark of 8-4 in league play. Doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday at Vail Baseball Field, and live video and live statistics for all four games will be available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
MSUB has eight more total road games over the next two weeks, before finishing the 2018 regular season with 25 consecutive games at home. The 'Jackets are vying for a top-four finish in the GNAC standings, which would earn them a spot in the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
 
Despite losing the opening game last week at Saint Martin's University, MSUB rallied to win the next three and claim a 3-1 series victory in Lacey, Wash. "We just talked to our guys about wanting to finish this road trip right and that begins with NNU this weekend," said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. "We had a better plan and approach at the plate last week, and created runs offensively which we hadn't been doing earlier. It was good to see us come alive and put more pressure on their defense."
 
PITCHING STAFF STAYS STRONG: Since the beginning of conference play, MSUB's pitching staff has been its strong suit. The 'Jackets enter this week No. 2 in the league with a team ERA of 5.28, and have the lowest opponents' batting average at .251. MSUB's staff also leads the league in strikeouts with 186 (9.35/9 innings), while giving up the second-fewest long balls in the league (11). "We have been piecing our pitching staff together, and all of our guys are ready to compete when they get the ball," Sutton said. "They have responded well and been flexible, and that has allowed us to use guys in multiple ways."
 
FREDRICKSON ON FIRE: Perhaps the top arm in the entire league thus far has been 'Jacket junior Steen Fredrickson, who leads the GNAC with 38 strikeouts and is second among qualifiers with a 2.70 earned run average. Through six starts, Fredrickson is 4-0 and is holding the opposition to a conference-best .189 batting average. He is coming off another 10-strikeout performance last week, already his second of the year, and he has gone at least five innings in five of his six starts on the season.
 
COX UNHITTABLE IN 'PEN: Adam Cox is yet to allow a base hit in 10 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season, as he has provided MSUB with an untouchable reliever for the late innings in close ballgames. Cox has faced 33 hitters this year, and has struck out more than half of them with 17 punch-outs. He is 1-0 with three saves, and has allowed just four total baserunners (two walks, two hit batters) on the year.
 
WONG RESPONDS AGAINST SMU: After giving up eight runs in five innings at Western Oregon, junior left-hander Sam Wong responded with a more sturdy outing against the Saints. Though he pitched just 3 2/3 innings, only one of the four runs that he surrendered was earned as errors hampered the 'Jackets. Wong is the only other pitcher besides Fredrickson to have made a start in each of the six weeks of the 2018 season, and has 16 strikeouts in 28 innings with a 5.46 ERA.
 
GARCIA SINGLED OUT BY GNAC: Earning his second career GNAC Player of the Week award, junior centerfielder Jalen Garcia went 11-for-20 in the four-game series at SMU. Despite missing five games with an injury, Garcia leads the GNAC with a .418 batting average and 26 RBIs. He also has a league-best 12 stolen bases, is first in runs scored (22), and is tied for second with 33 hits. The Billings native has played superior defense in his short career as a 'Jacket, with zero errors in 117 total chances in time split between right field and center field the last two seasons.
 
CONSISTENT KADE: The only player to start all 22 games this year, leftfielder Kade Hall is second on the team with a .351 batting average. He is tied with Garcia for the team lead with 33 hits, and has provided pop with four home runs, six doubles, and 18 RBIs coming primarily out of the leadoff spot in the order. Hall finished the series at Saint Martin's strong, going 6-for-10 with five runs scored and three doubles on the final day last Saturday.
 
MYERS PROVIDES POWER: The power numbers keep coming for senior slugger Ryan Myers, who homered again last week and now leads the team with five long balls this spring. Myers has had at least one home run in four of the five series he has played this year, and his total is tied for second in the conference. He is also tied for the league lead with 15 walks, and when his seven times hit by a pitch are factored in, he is the GNAC's leader in on-base percentage at .524. Entering this week, Myers continues to rank third in MSUB history with 16 career home runs, despite joining the program last year. 

SCHLEUSNER SHOWS DISCIPLINE: Behind Myers by just one point in batting average, sophomore Andrew Schleusner is hitting .349 while starting 20 of 22 games for the 'Jackets. Another thing he shares with Myers is a keen eye at the plate, as the duo are the only two among MSUB's regular starters to have drawn more walks than strikeouts on the season. Schleusner has walked 13 times and been hit by four pitches, while carrying a stellar .488 on-base percentage and striking out just eight times in 80 plate appearances.
 
INTRODUCING KALEO JOHNSON: Junior transfer Kaleo Johnson may have solidified a spot in the starting lineup last week, as the slugger had hits in all four games and went 7-for-16 overall in the four games at SMU. Johnson drilled two doubles and his first home run as a 'Jacket last Saturday, and scored five times while driving in five runs on the weekend. In 41 at-bats this year, Johnson holds a solid .317 batting average while reaching base at a clip of .442.
 
Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Friday, March 23 – 1 PM (Doubleheader) – Vail Baseball Field
Saturday, March 24 – 12 PM (Doubleheader) – Vail Baseball Field
2018 Record: 7-15, 5-7 GNAC
Head Coach: Rocke Musgraves, 5th season
2017 Record: 25-29, 21-19 GNAC (T3rd)
 
The Nighthawks had to fight hard for a split last week at home, but took care of business in the finale against Concordia University with a narrow 1-0 triumph. NNU was swept by Central Washington in its first conference series of the year, before bouncing back with a 3-1 series win over Saint Martin's and last week's split against the Cavaliers.
 
Offense hasn't been an issue for the 'Hawks, who have a team batting average of .280 and five regular starters hitting north of .300. NNU averages 5.7 runs per game, and has slugged 22 home runs which is second-most in the conference.
 
Parker Price has started all 22 games and leads NNU with a .384 batting average and 22 runs scored. Price gets on base at a clip of .439, a mark bettered only by Bennett Tabaracci (.441). Casey Sheehan leads NNU with five home runs and 22 RBIs, while Jesse Hilyard also has five long balls to start the season.
 
Zach Penrod is hitting .333 with four home runs and 17 runs batted in, and Justin Folz leads the team with 11 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
 
Penrod is also a key arm on the mound for NNU, as he leads the team with a 1.72 ERA in eight appearances including four starts. Greg Casper leads the team with 29 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched, while Ryan Mets and reigning all-GNAC pitcher Ross Clevenger have each made five starts. As a team NNU carries a 6.58 ERA, and the opposition is batting .297 off of Nighthawk pitchers.
 
The Series: MSUB is 44-45 all-time against NNU, and is 20-21 in road games. The teams split the remarkably-even series again last year, with each team winning four times in the eight regular-season contests. The Nighthawks gained a one-game advantage in the all-time series with a 4-3 win in last year's GNAC tournament.
 
Last Time Out: The Nighthawks ended MSUB's 2017 campaign, bouncing them from the GNAC Championships with a 4-3 win in Portland, Ore., last May. Clevenger earned the win with 7 2/3 solid innings on the mound, while Garcia led the 'Jackets in the game with all three RBIs.