BILLINGS, Mont. – After winning its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference series of the year, the Montana State University Billings baseball team faces reigning conference champion Western Oregon University in a four-game series this weekend.
 
The Yellowjackets (8-6, 3-1 GNAC) will challenge the Wolves (4-7, 4-0 GNAC), who are coming off a four-game sweep of Saint Martin's University to start their conference campaign.
 
Due to unplayable conditions at WOU's home field in Monmouth, Ore., locations for this weekend's games have been adjusted. On Friday, the teams will play a doubleheader starting at noon, at the Morse Athletic Complex on the campus of George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. On Saturday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader is scheduled to be played at Porter Park on the campus of Concordia University in Portland, Ore. Check the MSUB baseball schedule page online here for the most up-to-date live stat links. Live video will not be available for this weekend's series.
 
"It is going to be a competitive weekend for our guys, and I know they are looking forward to the challenge," commented MSUB baseball head coach Aaron Sutton, who is a WOU alumnus. "This week has really given us the opportunity to work on some things as a group, and we hope it shows this coming weekend."
 
The Yellowjackets claimed a 3-1 triumph over Concordia University in a four-game set last weekend, winning the first three games before falling in the series finale. In a low-scoring series overall, MSUB out-paced CU 16-7 while each team shut out the other last Sunday.
 
IN THE REGION: The 'Jackets climbed back to No. 7 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association west region top-10 this week. MSUB slipped to No. 10 last week, before its 3-1 showing at Concordia to ascend three spots.
 
MYERS MAINTAINING POWER NUMBERS: Senior Ryan Myers smacked his fourth home run of the year in the opening game against the Cavaliers, making it at least one long ball in each of the three series he has played in this season. Entering this week, Myers leads the GNAC in batting average (.406), on-base percentage (.587), and slugging percentage (.844), and is second in walks (11). He now has 15 career home runs at MSUB, and is 10 away from matching the all-time mark of 25 held by 2015 All-American Brody Miller.
 
GARCIA DOES IT ALL: Junior centerfielder Jalen Garcia is the early GNAC leader in a multitude of categories, including hits (22), runs (17), triples (2), RBIs (19), stolen bases (9), and total bases (41). Garcia is batting .373 and has 11 extra-base hits for a slugging percentage of .695. On the base paths he has been caught just once in 10 attempts, and he is already more than halfway to the MSUB single-season record of 17 steals set by Kyle Prior in 2007 and matched by Zach Robinson a season ago.
 
HALL HEALTHY IN LEFT: An injury cut senior Kade Hall's promising 2017 campaign short, but he has gotten off to an equally impressive start in 2018. Through 14 starts in left field Hall is batting .344 with five extra-base hits, and his 14 RBIs are second-most on the team despite hitting out of the leadoff spot. Hall is also a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases, and has scored a dozen runs which ranks third on the team.
 
LINEBARGER SHOWS PATIENT APPROACH: Like Myers, junior Conner Linebarger has shown tremendous discipline at the plate and carries a lofty .467 on-base percentage. Linebarger leads the Yellowjackets with 12 walks, and also holds a .304 batting average with four doubles.
 
COX WIGGLES OUT OF JAM: Adam Cox got MSUB out of a major jam last week, when he was called in to relieve with the bases loaded and no out in a 4-2 ballgame in the bottom of the seventh. Cox struck out the 2-through-4 hitters in Concordia's lineup to strand the runners, and finished his second save of the year with scoreless eighth and ninth innings. The senior right-hander has not allowed a hit through 5 1/3 innings pitched and has struck out half of the 18 batters he has faced this year.
 
EDGAR HAS THE EDGE: Senior Travis Edgar has been impressive out of the bullpen like Cox, as he had another scoreless outing last week. The 6-foot-7 righty has nine strikeouts in five innings pitched, and hasn't given up a hit against the 21 batters he has faced in three appearances.
 
STEEN SETS 'EM DOWN: Junior Steen Fredrickson has had his two highest single-game strikeout totals in his last two games, as he backed up a career-high 10 two weeks ago with eight in his victory over Concordia. Entering this weekend's series, Fredrickson leads the conference with 24 strikeouts, as well as in victories as he is a perfect 3-0 on the year.
 
SHOCKLEY COMING OFF BEST OUTING: Given his first start of the year against the 'Cavs, senior Tristan Shockley did not disappoint has he turned in his best effort of 2018 to date. The righty had six strikeouts while tossing 5 2/3 innings to earn the win, and he gave up no runs on just two base hits. Overall Shockley is fourth on the team with 14 innings pitched, and the opposition is batting just .231 off of him.
 
MUSKAT PITCHES WELL AT HOME: Sophomore Sam Muskat earned his first career start last week, pitching near his hometown of Beaverton, Ore. The lefty delivered a six-strikeout performance and gave up just two runs in five innings as he continued the stellar start to his season. Muskat is second on the team with 18 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings pitched, and holds a 4.91 earned run average.

Western Oregon University Wolves
Friday, March 9 – 12 PM – Doubleheader – Newberg, OR
Saturday, March 10 – 1 PM – Doubleheader – Portland, OR
2018 Record: 4-7, 4-0 GNAC
Head Coach: Kellen Walker, 5th season
2017 Record: 31-15, 27-12 GNAC (1st place, Regular Season & Tournament Champions)
 
After a sluggish, 0-7 start to the year, Western Oregon turned things around last week and swept its first GNAC series against Saint Martin's University. The Wolves out-scored the Saints 39-16 in the four game set, and shot to the top of the early conference standings.
 
The reigning GNAC champions have four players who have started all 11 games and are batting north of .300, led by Connor McCord at .368. The 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year already has four home runs and 13 RBIs, while adding in three doubles.
 
Veteran third baseman Nyles Nygaard is the GNAC's early leader with five home runs, and he paces the squad with 18 RBIs to go along with a .333 batting average. Jay Leverett is also hitting .333, and Jacob Martinez is second on the team with a mark of .357 while leading the squad with five doubles and 14 runs scored.
 
On the mound, Gabe Benavides is the lone player with three starts under his belt, and he has amassed 13 strikeouts in a team-best 15 1/3 innings pitched. Craig Grubbe has a 4.63 ERA in 11 2/3 innings pitched over two starts, and McCord has also made two starts on the mound for the Wolves. Nick Parr has the team's only save of the year, and has been stellar out of the bullpen with seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings to go along with a 2.08 ERA. Alex Roth has the most innings pitched among non-starters (8.1) and holds a 2.16 ERA with 14 strikeouts.
 
The Wolves have a .271 team batting average and have scored 70 runs on the year, while posting a 6.15 team ERA and a stellar team fielding percentage of .972.
 
The Series: MSUB enters the week 20-66 all-time against the Wolves, and is 9-28 in away games. MSUB is 7-11 in the series since the start of the 2016 season.
 
Last Time Out: It was a one-sided affair last year, as WOU won eight of the nine games between the teams including a 4-2 ballgame at the GNAC Championships. MSUB's lone win last year was an 18-2 clobbering at home on April 15, but WOU swept a neutral site series early in the season when the 'Jackets were on the West Coast.