BILLINGS, Mont. – Baseball will come a day early this week at Dehler Park, with Montana State University Billings pushing up its four-game set against Northwest Nazarene University.
 
Doubleheaders are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday and noon on Friday, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal online here.
 
The series was originally scheduled to be played on Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m., but was shifted to avoid an unfavorable weather forecast on Saturday. The Yellowjackets will go on the road next week to play four games at Central Washington University April 26-27, before finishing the regular season at home against Concordia University on May 2-3.
 
With 12 regular-season contests remaining, the 'Jackets are in first place in the GNAC standings at 19-17 overall and 19-9 in league play. "Our guys are ready to get out and compete against a good NNU ball club this week," said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. "We played some very tight games at their place earlier in the year, and both teams have been playing well. This weekend is going to be all about opportunities and capitalizing in big moments."
 
MSUB is coming off a four-game series split with second-place Western Oregon University last weekend at Dehler Park.
 
LITTLE LEAGUE DAY FRIDAY: The Yellowjackets will host their annual Little League Day on Friday at Dehler Park, with all Little Leaguers wearing their uniform and one parent receiving free admission to the doubleheader. It is part of MSUB's Little League Weekend, which features a camp scheduled for Monday at Dehler Park. The fundamental and skill-based camp is for children ages 6-14, and will run from 5-8 p.m. on Monday. Registration is $50 per camper, and for more information contact MSUB assistant coach Grant Hamilton at grant.hamilton2@msubillings.edu.
 
'JACKETS STAND PAT IN REGIONAL RANKINGS: The 'Jackets remained No. 7 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association west region top-10, released on Monday. It is the second straight week that MSUB has occupied the No. 7 position. The first NCAA D2 west region rankings, which will eventually determine the field of participants in the 2019 West Region Championships, will be released next week.
 

Week	Poll	MSUB Ranking	Movement	Full Rankings
Preseason	NCBWA	7	0	Preseason Rankings
Week 1 - Feb. 18	NCBWA	T10	-3	Week 1 Rankings
Week 2 - Feb. 25	NCBWA	--	DROP	Week 2 Rankings
Week 3 - March 4	NCBWA	--	--	Week 3 Rankings
Week 4 - March 11	NCBWA	--	--	Week 4 Rankings
Week 5 - March 18	NCBWA	RV	--	Week 5 Rankings
Week 6 - March 25	NCBWA	10	IN	Week 6 Rankings
Week 7 - April 1	NCBWA	8	+2	Week 7 Rankings
Week 8 - April 8	NCBWA	7	+1	Week 8 Rankings
Week 9 - April 15	NCBWA	7	0	Week 9 Rankings

SETIAN MAKES IT SEVEN STRAIGHT POTWs: Sophomore shortstop Wyatt Setian was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday, making it seven straight weeks and eight total players that the 'Jackets have had represented among the conference's weekly awards. The eight weekly honors are tied for the most MSUB has ever received in a single season, and it is the first time that eight different individuals have earned the award in the same year.
 
Setian slugged .833, as five of his six hits on the weekend went down for extra bases. He had a pair of home runs, including his first collegiate grand slam, and drove in seven runs on the weekend. Entering this week, Setian leads the GNAC in total hits with 48 and doubles with 13. He is batting .336, and he is also in the top-five in runs scored (31), RBIs (28), and home runs (8).
 
DILLON CONTINUES POWER PUSH: Senior Matt Dillon hit two more home runs last weekend, bringing his total on the season to 12. That figure leads the GNAC, and is tied for No. 20 in the NCAA. He has moved into a tie with teammate Daniel Cipriano for No. 1 in the conference in slugging percentage at .743, and Dillon is tied for fifth in the league with 28 RBIs. Dillon's 12 home runs are the fourth-most in MSUB single-season history, and he needs two more to break into the top-10 in GNAC single-season history. The MSUB record is 17, achieved by Kaleo Johnson in 2018, and the GNAC record is 18 set by Kyle Sani of Central Washington in 2013.
   

Rank	Name	HR	Season
1	Kaleo Johnson	17	2018
2	Ryan Myers	16	2018
3	Brody Miller	14	2015
4	Matt Dillon	12	2019
5	Ryan Myers	11	2017
6	Luke Reinschmidt	10	2016
	Luke Reinschmidt	10	2015
	Daniel Cipriano	10	2019
9	Adam Cox	9	2016
	Caje Golden	9	2017
	Kade Hall	9	2018
	Jalen Garcia	9	2018

 
CIPRIANO KEEPS GETTING ON BASE: Junior slugger Daniel Cipriano has maintained his case for 2019 GNAC Newcomer of the Year, as he ranks in the top-three in the league in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. He leads the team in average at .381, is second behind Dillon in slugging at .719, and is No. 3 in the league with an on-base percentage of .515. Cipriano's 10 home runs are also second in the league behind Dillon, he is third with 30 RBIs, and he has been hit by a pitch a GNAC-high 16 times as well.
 
GARCIA CLIMBS CHARTS: Senior Jalen Garcia had hits in all four games last week, and continued to ascend the MSUB career hitting charts. Entering this week, his career batting average of .338 is third-best in school history, and he had a pair of doubles last week to reach 41 and move to No. 3 at MSUB. He needs eight more doubles to match Brody Miller's all-time record of 49, and he is one home run away from becoming the fourth in school history to reach 20 long balls in a career.
   

Rank	Name	2B	Seasons
1	Brody Miller	49	2012-15
2	Luke Reinschmidt	44	2014-16
3	Jalen Garcia	41	2017-19
4	Matt Schoonover	39	2007-10
5	Colby Robison	34	2011-13
	Colter Sternhagen	34	2013-16
7	Jeff Ridgeway	30	2008-11
8	Conner Linebarger	28	2017-19
9	Casey Merritt	26	2014-17
	Kade Hall	26	2017-18
	Andrew Schleusner	26	2017-19

 
PETERSON TIES SCHOOL RECORD: Senior Landon Peterson tied the MSUB single-game record for walks, as he drew four in his first four plate appearances in Game 1 against Western Oregon. He became the fifth Yellowjacket to achieve the feat, joining Brian Dukart (2009), Kevin Toon (2015), Kade Hall (2017), and Conner Linebarger (2018). It also elevated Peterson to No. 4 in MSUB history with 61 career walks, and he is one away from matching Colter Sternhagen's total of 62 (2013-16). Peterson is also up to 673 career putouts, which is third-most and is seven shy of Kevin Toon's No. 2 mark of 680 (2013-16).
   

Rank	Name	BB	Seasons
1	Brody Miller	110	2012-15
2	Kevin Toon	79	2013-16
3	Colter Sternhagen	62	2013-16
4	Landon Peterson	61	2015-19
5	Ryan Myers	59	2017-18
6	Casey Merritt	58	2013-17
7	Luke Reinschmidt	54	2013-16
8	Blake Loran	52	2011-15
9	Austin Rue	51	2011-13
10	Myles Berkram	48	2013-16

 
SAM POWERS ONE OUT: Junior Sam Powers hit his first home run of the season last week, becoming the 13th different MSUB player to record a long ball on the season. That tied the 2008 team for most different players to homer in a single season, and MSUB is two players away from matching the GNAC record of 15 different players with a home run set by Western Oregon during the 2009 season.
 
Powers' blast also lifted MSUB's total to 52 home runs on the season, which is the seventh-most hit by a team in GNAC history. The Yellowjackets are averaging 1.44 home runs per game, which is the second-highest mark in conference history behind the team's 2018 figure of 1.53 homers per game.
 

Rank	Team	HR-Game	Season
1	MSU Billings	1.53	2018
2	MSU Billings	1.44	2019
3	Western Oregon	1.20	2010
4	Northwest Nazarene	1.17	2017
5	Western Oregon	1.06	2012
6	Central Washington	1.05	2005
7	Western Oregon	1.04	2019
8	Western Oregon	0.96	2006
9	Western Oregon	0.94	2018
10	Central Washington	0.90	2002

 
PETRICH MAKES DEBUT: True freshman Zander Petrich made his Yellowjacket career debut last week, earning three starts in the infield. The Livingston native had just one defensive miscue in 21 chances, and turned a pair of double plays as well.
 
FREDRICKSON CRACKS GNAC TOP-10: Senior Steen Fredrickson cracked into the top-10 in GNAC history in strikeouts, as he reached 175 after punching out five in his start against the Wolves. The right-hander is third in the GNAC with 58 strikeouts on the season and a 3.81 ERA, and he is second in the league with 54 1/3 innings pitched. His strikeout total is No. 8 in MSUB single-season history as well.
 
MOLNAA FINISHES HISTORIC STREAK: Senior right-hander Jarrod Molnaa surrendered a pair of earned runs in his second inning of work against the Wolves, ending the third-longest streak of consecutive innings pitched without an earned run allowed in GNAC history. His impressive stretch started on March 17 against Central Washington, and lasted for 26 1/3 innings. It tied Grady Wood of Western Oregon for the third-longest in conference history, and was just 2 2/3 innings shy of Nick Waechter's GNAC-record streak of 29.0 innings for Western Oregon during the 2005 season. It was also the second-longest streak in MSUB history, behind Kyle McBride's mark of 29 2/3 innings achieved during the 2006 campaign.
 

Rank	Player	School	Streak	Start	Finish
1	Nick Waechter	Western Oregon	29	4/1/2005	5/7/2005
2	Eric Huson	Western Oregon	28.2	3/1/2014	4/6/2014
3	Grady Wood	Western Oregon	26.1	4/7/2012	5/11/2012
	Jarrod Molnaa	MSU Billings	26.1	3/17/2019	4/13/2019
5	Kirk Lind	Western Oregon	24.1	2/11/2011	4/18/2011
6	Jason Wilson	Western Oregon	22.2	3/9/2012	4/29/2012
7	Josh Samter	Western Oregon	22.2	4/15/2002	5/1/2002
	Luke Holscher	Western Oregon	22.2	2/14/2004	3/13/2004
9	Jacob Pettit	Western Oregon	20	4/24/2010	5/7/2010
	Patrick Patterson	Northwest Nazarene	20	2/18/2012	3/13/2012

 
MACKINTOSH THROWS SECOND CG: Junior left-hander Keven Mackintosh threw his second complete game of the season, and earned his fourth victory in MSUB's 7-3 series-ending win. Mackintosh struck out five, while giving up three runs on six hits and going the distance. He was forced to issue an intentional walk for strategical purposes, but otherwise kept his string of walk-free innings alive. Over his past five outings and 32 2/3 total innings pitched, Mackintosh has struck out 38 and walked none other than the intentional pass. Mackintosh holds a WHIP of 0.86 during that stretch, and his nine total walks allowed and 1.77 walks per game this season are the second fewest in the GNAC among pitchers who qualify.
 
ROUBIDOUX SNAGS HARD-EARNED SAVE: Redshirt freshman Hunter Roubidoux had to work hard for his second save of the season, pitching the final 2 1/3 innings in the Yellowjackets' 9-7 Game 2 victory over WOU. The righty has taken a page out of Mackintosh's book, as he has not issued a walk over his last five outings and 6 1/3 total innings pitched.
 
Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Thursday, April 18 – 3 PM DOUBLEHEADER – Dehler Park
Friday, April 19 – 12 PM DOUBLEHEADER – Dehler Park
2019 Record: 18-16, 14-11 GNAC
Head Coach: Joe Schaefer, 1st season
2018 Record: 19-31, 17-23 GNAC
First Meeting: MSUB 3, NNU 1 (March 8-9 at Nampa, ID) MSUB 13, NNU 6 | MSUB 4, NNU 1 | NNU 16, MSUB 9 | MSUB 16, NNU 9
 
The Nighthawks sit in third place in the conference standings entering the series, and are coming off a 3-1 series win over Concordia at home last weekend. NNU has won three straight league series over the last month, and remains in contention for the regular-season title. NNU will play eight straight home games to close the regular season after this week's series in Billings.
 
Kyle Redford is NNU's top all-around offensive player, batting .339 on the year with nine doubles, two triples, and three home runs. Redford is also third on the team with 22 RBIs, and is second with 12 stolen bases.
 
Parker Price leads the team with four home runs and 23 RBIs, and is batting .282 while playing in all 34 games. Shawn Grandmont is also tied for the team lead with 23 RBIs, while Jesse Hilyard is tied for the top mark with four home runs. Rocco Ferrari is NNU's second-leading hitter with a .303 batting average, and he paces the squad with 13 stolen bases.
 
NNU is far-and-away the top team in the GNAC on the base paths, with 69 stolen bases in 90 attempts this spring. Thirteen different Nighthawks have stolen a base, and seven of them have at least five steals on the year.
 
As a pitching staff NNU has a team ERA of 5.41 which is third best in the conference. NNU has used nine different starting pitchers this season, with Cooper Webster, Hilyard, and Ben Johnson being the three most consistent starters. Webster leads the team with 46 innings pitched and 44 strikeouts, and he has tossed a pair of complete games. Jalen Fuhriman has been one of NNU's top arms in relief, with a 3.22 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings pitched.
 
The Series: MSUB is 53-48 all-time against NNU, and has a record of 23-23 in games played in Billings.
 
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets swept the Day 1 doubleheader, and then came back from an early 9-0 deficit in the finale to win 16-9 and swipe the series 3-1.