BILLINGS, Mont. – Home play continues for the Montana State University Billings baseball team, which has adjusted this weekend's schedule in its four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series against Saint Martin's University.
 
The first game has been moved up to Thursday evening at 6 p.m. under the lights at Dehler Park. The teams will then play two 7-inning games as a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m., and complete the series with a single 9-inning game on Saturday at 1 p.m. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for all four games online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
The Yellowjackets enter the week in first place in the GNAC standings, with an overall record of 26-12 and a league mark of 25-7. MSUB is 5.5 games ahead of second-place Western Oregon University, and has already clinched a berth in the 2018 GNAC Championships from May 9-11 in Ellensburg, Wash., at Central Washington University.

MSUB will look to clinch its third GNAC regular-season title in the last four years this weekend, as the team can clinch at least a share of the top spot with three more victories. The 'Jackets won back-to-back GNAC regular-season titles in 2015-16, and will head to the conference tournament for the fourth straight season. 
 
Winners of five straight GNAC series, six straight games, and nine of their last 10, the Yellowjackets were picked as the GNAC Team of the Week for the second time this spring after sweeping Concordia University in a four-game set at home last week. This weekend marks the second straight at home for the 'Jackets, who will wrap up the 2018 regular season next week with a four-game set against Central Washington.
 
MSUB EARNS FIRST-EVER REGIONAL RANKING: For the first time in program history, the Yellowjackets appeared in the NCAA D2 West Region rankings checking in at the No. 6 position. The first regional rankings of the year were released on Wednesday, and will ultimately determine the six-team field to compete for the 2018 NCAA D2 West Region Championship. In the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association west region rankings, MSUB checked in at No. 6 as well.
 
FREDRICKSON A PITCHER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: Claiming the GNAC Pitcher of the Week honor for the third time this season, MSUB junior right-hander Steen Fredrickson is coming off perhaps the most dominant performance of his career. Matching his personal best with seven innings against the Cavaliers, Fredrickson struck out six and allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings. He improved to 6-0 on the year and now holds a 3.21 ERA in 53 1/3 innings pitched. The Ashland, Ore., native leads the conference with 60 strikeouts, and with an opponents' batting average of .209. Fredrickson is the lone Yellowjacket to have made a start in all 10 series this season, and will get the ball in Game 1 for MSUB on Thursday night.
 
MYERS APPROACHING GNAC RECORDS: After batting .538 in last week's series, Yellowjacket senior slugger Ryan Myers is on his way to a record-breaking finish to his collegiate career. In order to qualify among the GNAC career leaders, Myers needs six more at-bats to reach the minimum of 250. With his current career on-base percentage of .508 and slugging percentage of .676, he would be No. 1 in both of those categories among the GNAC's all-time top players.
 
GNAC Career Slugging Percentage Leaders (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Player	School	SLG	Seasons
1	Ryan Myers	MSU Billings	0.676	2017-18
2	Zach Aakhus	Northwest Nazarene	0.667	2007-08
3	Troy Martin	Central Washington	0.662	2004-05
4	Kevin Corrigan	Western Oregon	0.649	2006-07
5	Bo Folkinga	Western Oregon	0.639	2011-12

 
GNAC Career On-Base Percentage Leaders (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Player	School	OBP	Seasons
1	Ryan Myers	MSU Billings	0.508	2017-18
2	Andrew Elke	Saint Martin's	0.500	2010-11
3	Jamie Nilsen	Central Washington	0.496	2005-08
4	Nate Baker	Saint Martin's	0.468	2005-08
5	Blake Miller	Western Oregon	0.467	2012-13

 *Myers has 244 career at-bats and needs to reach 250 to officially qualify among GNAC career leaders in both SLG and OBP.
 
The senior from Walnut Creek, Calif., is also tied for ninth in GNAC history and second in MSUB with 22 career home runs, and needs three more to tie Brody Miller's all-time mark of 25 long balls.
 
This season, Myers leads the GNAC in on-base percentage at .545, and is second in both batting average at .386 and slugging percentage at .728. His 11 home runs are the most in the league, as are his 29 walks, and he ranks No. 6 in RBIs with 35.
 
JOHNSON FOLLOWING MYERS' LEAD: Where Myers ranks second, teammate and GNAC Newcomer of the Year frontrunner Kaleo Johnson ranks first. The junior leads the GNAC in batting average at .388 and slugging percentage at .757, and is second in the league with nine home runs and an on-base percentage of .480. Despite starting just 28 games and logging only 103 at-bats this year, Johnson is in the top-10 in the GNAC in runs (33), doubles (11), RBIs (34), and total bases (78).
 
LEADING OFF: Third on the team in batting average at .369 is senior Kade Hall, who gets everything started as the leadoff man in MSUB's lineup. Hall ripped six doubles last week against the Cavaliers, and his 18 on the year are second-most in the conference. The senior needs just two more two-baggers to tie Brody Miller's single-season MSUB record of 20, and he has also drilled eight home runs while ranking second on the team with 36 RBIs. Hall is fourth in the GNAC with a slugging percentage of .631, while reaching base at a clip of .436.
 
MSUB Baseball Single-Season Doubles Records (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Name	2B	Season
1	Brody Miller	20	2015
2	Kade Hall	18	2018
3	Brody Miller	16	2014
	Luke Reinschmidt	16	2014
5	Luke Reinschmidt	15	2016
	Zach Robinson	15	2017
	Jalen Garcia	15	2018

 
GARCIA REACHES 100 CAREER HITS: Junior Jalen Garcia surpassed the century mark in hits last week, as he has collected 102 knocks in just two seasons with the Yellowjackets. Garcia's career batting average of .343 is third-highest in MSUB history, and he is likely to crack into the MSUB top-10 in hits this weekend as he needs just three more to do so.
 
MSUB Baseball 100-Hit Club (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Name	Hits	Seasons
1	Brody Miller	249	2012-15
2	Matt Schoonover	213	2007-10
3	Luke Reinschmidt	192	2014-16
4	Colby Robison	168	2011-13
5	Casey Merritt	145	2013-17
6	Kevin Toon	134	2014-16
7	Colter Sternhagen	131	2013-16
	Jeff Ridgeway	131	2008-11
9	Kyle Durbin	111	2015-16
10	Ausin Rue	105	2011-13
11	Jalen Garcia	102	2017-18

 
Garcia also leads the GNAC in runs scored with 46, RBIs with 39, and stolen bases with 21 this season. He has a .642 slugging percentage, after 15 doubles, four triples, and six home runs among his 54 hits so far in 2018. Overall Garcia ranks fourth on the team with a batting average of .365 this spring.
 
GAHAN HAS SOLID OUTING: Senior right-hander Michael Gahan had a solid bounce-back outing against Concordia last week, pitching the 'Jackets to a win in Game 3 of the series. Gahan had five strikeouts in six innings of work, scattering seven hits and giving up just one run in his third start of the year. Lowering his ERA to 4.03 on the season, Gahan has logged 20 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings pitched, while walking just eight hitters.
 
SHOCKLEY'S SCORELESS STREAK ENDS: Tristan Shockley became the 14th pitcher in MSUB history to log a string of 10 or more shutout innings, reaching 10 1/3 before giving up his first run in six appearances against CU. A durable option out of the bullpen, Shockley has appeared in 13 games this season and holds a 4.28 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings of work.
 
GOLDEN GOOD IN MOUND DEBUT: Making his first appearance of the year on the mound, sophomore Caje Golden had a strong showing against the Cavaliers. The right-hander faced seven hitters and retired six of them over two innings, striking out one and not allowing a hit to help finish Fredrickson's one-hitter in Game 1 last Friday. Golden figures to provide the Yellowjackets with another mid-to-late inning arm out of the bullpen down the stretch of the season.
 
OFFENSE OFF THE CHARTS: MSUB is continuing its quest to go down as the greatest offensive team in GNAC history, as the Yellowjackets enter this week No. 1 all-time with 8.42 runs per game. MSUB has hit 51 home runs this year, and is 12 away from tying the GNAC single-season record of 63 set by Northwest Nazarene University last year. The Yellowjackets' pace of 1.35 home runs per game is the highest in GNAC history, as are their 4.71 walks per game and 7.71 RBIs per game.
 
Most Home Runs, Team, GNAC Single-Season History (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Team	Home Runs	Season
1	Northwest Nazarene	63	2017
2	Western Oregon	59	2010
3	Central Washington	58	2005
4	Western Oregon	54	2006
	Western Oregon	54	2012
6	MSU Billings	51	2018
7	MSU Billings	45	2017
8	Northwest Nazarene	44	2016
9	Northwest Nazarene	43	2002
10	Central Washington	42	2003
	Central Washington	42	2004
	Western Oregon	42	2016

 
The Yellowjackets also have the highest team slugging percentage in GNAC history at .523, which ranks No. 8 in the NCAA Division II this year. The top-four players in the GNAC in slugging percentage are all from MSUB, six of the top-10 including the top-three in on-base percentage play for the 'Jackets, and MSUB also has five of the top-10 including four of the top-five batting averages in the conference this year.
 
Highest Slugging Percentage, Team, GNAC Single-Season History (as of April 25, 2018)

Rank	Team	Slugging	Season
1	MSU Billings	0.523	2018
2	Western Oregon	0.511	2006
	Western Oregon	0.511	2006
4	Central Washington	0.510	2005
	Western Oregon	0.510	2010
6	Western Oregon	0.507	2012
7	Central Washington	0.501	2004
8	Western Oregon	0.478	2009
9	Central Washington	0.474	2002
10	Western Oregon	0.468	2005

Saint Martin's University Saints
Thursday, April 26 – 6 PM – Dehler Park
Friday, April 27 – 1 PM Doubleheader – Dehler Park
Saturday, April 28 – 1 PM – Dehler Park
2018 Record: 8-32, 7-25 GNAC
Head Coach: Kelly Gau, 1st season
First Series: MSUB 3, SMU 1 (March 16-17 at Lacey, WA) | SMU 9, MSUB 6 | MSUB 6, SMU 1 | MSUB 11, SMU 4 | MSUB 15, SMU 9
 
The Saints are coming off a four-game series sweep defeat against Western Oregon University last week, and have fallen out of playoff contention for the 2018 season. SMU closes the year at home against Concordia after this weekend's series against the Yellowjackets in Billings.
 
Adam Eskil is the reigning GNAC Player of the Week, after hitting three home runs in the series against the Wolves and driving in nine total. It was the first three long balls of the year for Eskil, who is batting .271 with 13 RBIs this season.
 
Austin Feist is the team's leading hitter at .325, and Ryne Oshiro is also above the .300 mark at .322. That duo has each started all 40 games for the 'Jackets, and has combined to hit eight of the team's 15 home runs. Feist paces the squad with 24 RBIs, while slugging at a clip of .523.
 
The Saints have relied on starters Tanner Inouye and Clark Streby on the mound this season, with the former leading the team with a 4.26 earned run average. Streby has a team-high 47 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings pitched, to go along with a 5.33 ERA. Star pitcher Mickey Walker has also started seven games this season, but hasn't appeared in a contest since March 31.
 
As a team SMU averages 4.6 runs offensively, while hitting .246. On the mound the Saints have a team ERA of 7.42, and the opposition has a batting average of .333.
 
The Series: MSUB is 38-44 all-time against the Saints, and has a record of 16-22 in games played at Dehler Park. The Yellowjackets have won seven series in-a-row dating back to the 2015 season, going 23-5 overall in that time span.
 
Last Time Out: The Yellowjackets recovered after losing the opener 9-6, taking the next three games to claim the 3-1 series win.