BILLINGS, Mont. – A season filled with historic moments for the Montana State University Billings baseball team continues this week at the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash.
 
The Yellowjackets will be looking for more landmarks at the conference championships, including a first-ever GNAC tournament title. MSUB wrapped up its third GNAC regular-season title in the last four years, and has advanced to five of the six conference tournaments, but has yet to claim the tournament title. The 'Jackets will look to be the fourth GNAC team to win the regular season and tournament titles in the same season, as Western Oregon University achieved the feat last year and in 2013, and Northwest Nazarene won both championships in the 2016 season.
 
MSUB plays No. 4 seed Concordia University in the opening round of the tournament, on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Pacific time. All games of the 2018 GNAC Championships will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics, available online through GNAC.tv. Tickets for the event will be available for purchase at the gate, and are available in advance online through www.gnactickets.com.

2018 GNAC Baseball Championships Schedule
CWU Baseball Field, Ellensburg, Wash. | All times listed are Pacific
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Game 1 - #3 Central Washington vs. #2 Western Oregon – 11:30 AM
Game 2 - #4 Concordia vs. #1 MSU Billings – 3 PM
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 9:30 AM
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 12:30 PM
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 – 3:30 PM
Friday, May 11, 2018
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 12 PM
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (If Necessary) – 3 PM
 
MSUB will look for its 31st win of the season in Game 1 against Concordia, which would set a new standard for victories in a year after the 2016 team went 30-20. Overall the Yellowjackets are 30-16 and they cruised to the GNAC regular-season title with a league mark of 29-11.
 
MSUB Baseball GNAC Championships History

Season	Seed	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Overall
2013	#3	L, 7-0	L, 6-5	X	0-2
2015	#1	L, 8-6	L, 4-3	X	0-2
2016	#2	W, 10-2	L, 4-3	L, 18-1	1-2
2017	#4	L, 4-2	L, 4-3	X	0-2

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THE COMPETITION
No. 2 Seed Western Oregon University Wolves
2018 Record: 24-20, 24-16 GNAC (2nd place)
GNAC Tournament Appearance: Sixth
GNAC Tournament Champions: 2013, 2015, 2017
2018 vs. MSUB: 2-6 | 2-2 at Newberg/Portland, OR March 9-10 | 0-4 at Billings, MT April 6-8 (Forfeited Series)
Top Hitters: Jay Leverett .356/.429/.455 | Jared McDonald .333/.567/.422 | Connor McCord .299/.591/.388
Top Starting Pitchers: Alex Roth 3.20 ERA, 1.31 WHIP | Craig Grubbe 4.24 ERA, 1.25 WHIP | Jacob Fricke 4.10 ERA, 1.56 WHIP
X-Factor: Pitching. The Wolves are the top staff in the conference, and have five different starters who have an ERA below 6.00 while starting at least four times. An offense that has hit the fifth-most home runs in program history (41), and averages 6.3 runs per game has proven to be more than enough to back the Wolves' sturdy pitching staff. With three GNAC tournament titles, the reigning champion Wolves also enter the championships with the best historical results in tournament play.
 

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No. 3 Seed Central Washington University Wildcats
2018 Record: 26-24, 21-19 GNAC (3rd place)
GNAC Tournament Appearance: Fourth
GNAC Tournament Champions: 2014
2018 vs. MSUB: 3-5 | 1-3 at Ellensburg, WA March 30-31 | 2-2 at Billings, MT May 3-4
Top Hitters: James Smith .368/.642/.450 | Dustin Braun .381/.536/.432 | Tristin Parton .392/.549/.451
Top Starting Pitchers: Connor Stevenson 4.52 ERA, 1.49 WHIP | Mackenzie Gaul 5.34 ERA 1.57 WHIP | Griffin Davis 6.03 ERA 1.52 WHIP
X-Factor: Offense. The Wildcats boast a team batting average of .304 and are among the conference leaders in a multitude of offensive categories. CWU averages 7.0 runs per game, the only team in the conference close to the Yellowjackets' mark of 8.26. The Wildcats' staff ERA is an even 6.00, and the pitchers have given up a GNAC-high 46 home runs. The team will look to the offense to carry it, as it did during an 11-4/21-6 doubleheader sweep of the Yellowjackets in Billings last Friday. CWU has the advantage of playing on its home field, as it is hosting for the first time, appearing for the fourth, and looking for its second-ever title after winning it all in 2014.

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No. 4 Seed Concordia University Cavaliers
2018 Record: 20-30, 19-21 GNAC (4th place)
GNAC Tournament Appearance: First
GNAC Tournament Champions: None
2018 vs. MSUB: 1-7 | 1-3 at Portland, OR March 3-4 | 0-4 at Billings, MT April 20-21
Top Hitters: Andrew Barrera .337/.436/.425 | Mitch Bevacqua .268/.449/.373 | Cole Crosby .318/.364/.404
Top Pitchers: Isaac Mitchum 3.75, 1.53 WHIP | Jake Roes 4.35 ERA, 1.58 WHIP | Trevor Huddleston 4.61 ERA, 1.49 WHIP
X-Factor: The Unknown. Though the Yellowjackets dominated the season series 7-1, the task of facing the 'Cavs in a single-game scenario could be a different story. CU may opt to throw Trevor Huddleston on Wednesday, after the lefty authored a two-hit shutout against the 'Jackets in a 2-0 win in Portland on March 4. CU also had an impressive resume splitting its season series both against CWU and WOU at 4-4 in each. After joining the GNAC in 2016, the 'Cavs will be further fueled by making their debut appearance at the conference tournament.
 

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RECORD-BREAKING OFFENSE: Despite being tied for the fewest games played in a single season with 46, MSUB broke the school record for runs scored last week as it has accumulated 380 (8.26 per game) on the year. The Yellowjackets also broke the team single-season records for most doubles (105), most RBIs (350), and most total bases (821). Soaring past the home run record as well, MSUB is now one home run away from tying the GNAC single-season mark of 63 held by Northwest Nazarene University (2017).
 
MSUB's team slugging percentage of .521 is No. 9 in the NCAA, and is the highest-ever mark by a team in GNAC history.
 
GNAC Baseball Single-Season Team Slugging Percentage (as of May 7, 2018)

Rank	Team	Slugging	Season
1	MSU Billings	0.521	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

 
REGIONAL RANKINGS: The next NCAA west region rankings will be released on Wednesday, but the Yellowjackets appeared at No. 7 in the penultimate National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top-10 released Monday. MSUB was No. 7 in the NCAA poll last week, and needs to find its way back into the top-six by the time the NCAA selection show announces the regional field after this weekend's games.
 
JOHNSON CAPS REGULAR SEASON WITH A BANG: Homering three times last week, junior Kaleo Johnson pulled even with teammate Ryan Myers for the GNAC lead with a dozen long balls. Despite starting just 36 games, Johnson is also No. 3 in the GNAC with 46 RBIs and is No. 4 with 99 total bases. He is the top hitter in the conference with a batting average of .405, leads the league in slugging at .786, and is No. 2 in on-base percentage at .494.
 
GNAC Baseball Single-Season Individual Slugging Percentage (as of May 7, 2018)

Rank	Player	School	SLG	Season
1	Kaleo Johnson	MSU Billings	0.786	2018
2	Jamie Nilsen	Central Washington	0.780	2008
3	Bo Folkinga	Western Oregon	0.751	2012
4	Brian Viafore	Central Washington	0.743	2003
5	Zach Aakhus	Northwest Nazarene	0.742	2008
6	Chris Ridenour	Western Oregon	0.729	2002
	Kyle Sani	Central Washington	0.724	2013
8	Chandler Tracy	Saint Martin's	0.717	2015
9	John Thomas	Central Washington	0.702	2002
10	Daniel Dillard	Western Oregon	0.699	2010

 
GARCIA SNAGS TRIPLES RECORD: Junior Jalen Garcia hit his seventh triple of the year against the Wildcats, claiming the No. 1 spot in the MSUB single-season record books and moving within one of the GNAC single-season record of eight (Dylan Bruck, Western Oregon, 2008). Garcia continues to lead the league with 24 stolen bases, and is No. 2 in RBIs with 47 despite starting just 42 contests. He is also No. 2 on the team with 51 runs scored, as he and Kade Hall (52 runs) jockey to break the MSUB single-season record of 52 this week. Garcia's 66 hits this spring are second-most to Hall's 69, and are fifth-most in MSUB single-season history.
 
HEALTHY HALL HAS HISTORIC YEAR: Starting all 46 games this season, senior leadoff hitter Kade Hall is also putting up historic numbers for the 'Jackets. He matched Zach Robinson's school record of 52 runs scored last week, and needs nine more at-bats to eclipse Luke Reinschmidt's school record of 200 in 2015. In those plate appearances, Hall has racked up 18 doubles and eight home runs, while driving in 38 and slugging at a clip of .578. Hall is batting .359 overall, and is second on the team with nine stolen bases in 11 attempts.
 
SETIAN SHOWING STEADY IMPROVEMENT WITH BAT, GLOVE: Starting 37 games at shortstop this season, true freshman Wyatt Setian has been finding his stride both at the plate and with the glove. Offensively, he has knocked three home runs and five doubles, while driving in 21 and scoring 26 times. Over the last 13 games, Setian is batting .381 (16-for-42), raising his batting average by 59 points to its current mark of .238. Additionally, he has committed just one error in his last 17 games, and his fielding percentage of .941 is far and away the best in the GNAC among regular shortstops. Only Western Oregon's Justin Spinner (.919 in 32 games at SS) has a fielding percentage above .900 among the five other regular GNAC starters at shortstop.
 
SHOCKLEY SOLID AGAIN: Senior Tristan Shockley had another strong appearance last week, tossing 3 1/3 innings of relief to claim the win in Game 2 over the Wildcats. Shockley struck out four while allowing just two hits in his latest appearance, and walked one batter for his first walk in his last five outings. Overall in his last 10 appearances, Shockley has not allowed more than one run or three hits, and has issued just four walks while striking out 21 batters.
 
Tristan Shockley Since March 24, 2018

Appearances	IP	R	ER	H	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
10	20.1	5	5	19	4	21	2.21	1.13

COX MAINTAINS STRIKEOUT RATE: With two more strikeouts in a one-inning relief stint last week, senior Adam Cox upped his total on the year to 41 in 23 2/3 innings and has struck out 44.1 percent of the hitters he has faced. The right-hander has had multiple strikeouts in all but one outing this season, the lone exception being a 1/3 inning appearance early in the year. The opposition is batting .177 off Cox, and he holds a 3.04 ERA in his 13 appearances this year.