BILLINGS, Mont. – After starting the season with 28 straight away games, the Montana State University Billings baseball team makes its long-awaited 2019 home debut this weekend at Dehler Park.
 
The Yellowjackets (14-14, 14-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), who are in first place in the GNAC standings at the midway point in the season, will host Saint Martin's University (11-18, 7-13) in a four-game series this weekend. Doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available through the MSUB Stretch Internet portal online here.
 
"The second half of league play starts this week," said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. "It feels like a new season for our guys, and we are working to get better this week in practice. We know the guys are excited to get back home and play in our home park. It will be an adjustment for them after living on the road these past six weeks, so we hope we can find our stride here at home."
 
Four of MSUB's final five series of the GNAC season are at Dehler Park over the next five weeks, with the only road trip remaining on the schedule on April 26-27 at Central Washington University. Other than that the 'Jackets will have 20 home games as the race towards the 2019 GNAC Championships unfolds. MSUB is coming off a 3-1 series win at Concordia University last weekend.
 
"Our pitching staff is going to be tested this weekend against SMU," Sutton commented. "We had some success against them last time out, but this second half is going to be about making adjustments and executing a game plan. This part of our season is where you really start to see which teams are focused and hungry, and which teams have the ability to survive the grind of seeing a team eight times in a year. This will be a good test for our club, and we are excited to get out and play some good baseball."
 
LOOKING FOR 5 STRAIGHT PLAYOFF SEASONS: The reigning regular-season champion Yellowjackets are looking to make their fifth straight trip to the conference tournament, which will run May 8-10 at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. The 'Jackets, who hold a two-game lead over Western Oregon University in first place at the midway point of league play, will need to maintain a top-four spot in the GNAC standings in order to lock up a conference tournament berth. This year's GNAC Championships will bear extra weight, as the tournament champion will earn an automatic NCAA Division II West Region Championships playoff bid for the first time ever.
 
REGIONAL RANKING RISE: The 'Jackets climbed in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association west region rankings for the third straight week, jumping up two spots to the No. 8 position. It is the highest the team has been ranked since its preseason position of No. 7, and has to do largely with the recent tear MSUB has been on. Heading into this weekend's home series, the 'Jackets have won four straight series, and 14 of their last 17 games overall. Since starting the 2019 season with an 0-11 record, MSUB has lost just three games as it has vaulted into first place in the GNAC standings. The initial NCAA D2 west region rankings, which ultimately determine the six-team field for the 2019 playoffs, are scheduled to be released the week of April 15.
 

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

PETERSON EARNS WEEKLY HONOR: Senior catcher Landon Peterson claimed his first-ever GNAC Player of the Week award on Monday, after he led the 'Jackets in their 3-1 series win over Concordia last weekend. The Boise, Idaho, native caught all four games for MSUB's pitching staff, and led the team with eight RBIs thanks in large part to a pair of home runs. Peterson's award marked the fifth straight week MSUB has had a GNAC Player or Pitcher of the Week, and overall he was the sixth Yellowjacket this spring to win the honor.
 
Peterson is contributing his best collegiate season to date, with a .302 batting average, four home runs, and a team-second best 18 RBIs in 20 games played. He is reaching base at a clip of .441 and is slugging .566, and he is now third in MSUB history with 636 career putouts.
   

Rank	Name	PO	Seasons
1	Blake Loran	756	2011-15
2	Kevin Toon	680	2013-16
3	Landon Peterson	636	2015-19
4	Ryan Myers	606	2017-18
5	Matt Kakalecik	532	2006, 08
6	Andrew Schleusner	507	2017-19
7	Seth Moir	397	2007-08
8	Blake Nelson	375	2008, 10-12
9	Conner Holbrook	336	2013-15
10	Jake Samuelson	335	2006-07

 
SETIAN AMONG LEAGUE'S TOP HITTERS: Sophomore Wyatt Setian has taken advantage of hitting out of the leadoff spot in MSUB's order, and enters this week with a .330 batting average. The shortstop is the lone Yellowjacket to have played in all 28 games, and he is tied for the team lead with 10 doubles. Setian has also hit four home runs and driven in 16, and he is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. Entering the weekend series, Setian leads the GNAC with 36 hits, and his doubles mark is tied for the most in the conference as well.
 
CIPRIANO HOMERS AGAIN: Junior Daniel Cipriano hit his seventh home run of the year last week at Concordia, which is the second-highest total in the conference. He leads the Yellowjackets with 20 RBIs, and is the top slugger in the GNAC at .737 on the season as well. The first baseman is MSUB's leading hitter, and his batting average of .395 ranks second in the conference. He is also second in the league with a .535 on-base percentage, as he has drawn 10 walks and has been hit by a pitch a GNAC-leading 13 times.
 
GARCIA REACHES 100 CAREER RBIs: Senior Jalen Garcia became the fourth player in MSUB history to reach 100 career RBIs last week, as his three-year total sits at 102. He needs 10 more to pass Colby Robison for No. 3 on the all-time MSUB list, and he is 25 shy of Luke Reinschmidt's No. 2 mark of 127. Brody Miller holds the MSUB career RBI record with 158 from 2012-15. Garcia also became the 17th player in GNAC history to reach the century mark in RBIs.
   

Rank	Name	RBI	Seasons
1	Brody Miller	158	2012-15
2	Luke Reinschmidt	127	2014-16
3	Colby Robison	111	2011-13
4	Jalen Garcia	102	2017-19
5	Colter Sternhagen	96	2013-16
6	Matt Schoonover	90	2007-10
7	Ryan Myers	88	2017-18
8	Kevin Toon	75	2013-16
9	Conner Linebarger	73	2017-19
10	Casey Merritt	71	2014-17

 
KOSZUTH BREAKS OUT WITH SLAM: Junior Brandon Koszuth had one of MSUB's biggest hits of the series at Concordia, launching a grand slam in the eighth inning to put Game 1 out of reach. It was the transfer's first home run in an MSUB uniform, and overall he plated five runs in the opening game of the series.
 
PITCHERS CARRYING SCORELESS STREAKS: Senior starters Jarrod Molnaa and Steen Fredrickson have been lights out over the last two weeks, as both take impressive scoreless inning streaks into this weekend's series. Molnaa has not allowed a run over the last 19 1/3 innings pitched, which is the second-longest scoreless innings streak in MSUB history. Within the scope of the GNAC, Molnaa's streak is the seventh-longest, and it is the longest since Eric Huson established the league record of 28 scoreless innings for Western Oregon from March 1-April 6, 2014.
 
Fredrickson meanwhile has a scoreless inning streak of 14 2/3 innings, which is good for sixth-best in MSUB history. His streak of innings without allowing an earned run meanwhile stands at 16 2/3 innings, which is the fourth-longest such streak in program history.
 
Both right-handers were locked in last week, with each throwing six full shutout frames and earning their third win of the season at Concordia.
 
Freshman right-hander Brooks Zimmer has also cracked into the top-10 in scoreless innings streaks, as he has an active string of 13 scoreless frames that has covered his last eight appearances out of the bullpen.
 

Rank	Player	Innings	Start	End	Season
1	Kyle McBride	26.1	13-Mar	21-Apr	2006
2	Jarrod Molnaa	19.2	17-Mar	Current	2019
3	Tanner Johnson	18	18-Apr	2-May	2015
4	Brian Strom	15.2	5-Mar	17-Mar	2005
5	Brady Muller	15	14-Apr	5-May	2012
6	Steen Fredrickson	14.2	16-Mar	Current	2019
7	Brady Muller	13.2	22-Feb	28-Feb	2015
	Travis Vincent	13.2	5-Mar	6-Apr	2013
9	Steen Fredrickson	13.1	9-Mar	23-Mar	2018
10	Brooks Zimmer	13	9-Mar	Current	2019

 
MACKINTOSH DELIVERS ANOTHER QUALITY START: Junior left-hander Keven Mackintosh matched his season high with seven complete innings for the second straight weekend, and he delivered his third straight quality start. Over his last three outings Mackintosh has allowed just five runs – four earned, while striking out 27 and walking none. He has allowed just 12 total hits in that time frame, resulting in a WHIP of 0.58 over his last 20 2/3 innings pitched. Mackintosh has issued just eight walks all season, which is third-fewest in the GNAC among qualifying pitchers.
 
BARKLEY PICKS UP THIRD WIN: Freshman left-hander Dylan Barkley picked up his third win of the season last week, tossing 5 1/3 strong frames in MSUB's narrow 3-2 win in Game 2. Barkley has emulated Mackintosh's command over the last three weeks as well, with 17 strikeouts and just one walk issued in his last 16 1/3 innings pitched.
 
MUSKAT, ROUBIDOUX EARN SAVES: While freshman Brooks Zimmer continues to lead the GNAC with six saves this season, junior Sam Muskat and freshman Hunter Roubidoux got in on the action last week as well. Muskat threw the final three innings in MSUB's big 6-0 Game 3 win, to pick up his second save in as many weeks. Roubidoux meanwhile inherited a messy bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, before securing the final out and finishing the game to pick up his first-career save in MSUB's 14-6 Game 1 triumph.
 
Saint Martin's University Saints
Saturday, April 6 – 1 PM DOUBLEHEADER – Dehler Park
Sunday, April 7 – 1 PM DOUBLEHEADER – Dehler Park
2019 Record: 11-18, 7-13 GNAC
Head Coach: Kelly Gau, 2nd season
2018 Record: 11-37, 10-30 GNAC (6th place)
First Meeting: March 23-24 at Lacey, WA – MSUB 2-0 – MSUB 5-4 (8) – MSUB 6-0 – MSUB 6-1
 
The Saints are coming off a series split at Western Oregon last week, as they rebounded from being swept by MSUB to grab a couple of wins from the second-place GNAC team.
 
SMU continues to boast the top pitching staff in the conference, with a team ERA of 4.21 and a league-best opposing batting average of .254. The Saints are also second in the league with 233 strikeouts and have issued a GNAC-low 86 walks. SMU pitchers have also given up just five home runs all year, with the next-closest GNAC team having allowed 13.
 
SMU's recipe for success on the mound has had to do with consistency, as Aaron Shoup, Clark Streby, Tanner Inouye, and Benjamin Wadowski have each made seven starts this season. Shoup has been the top starter thus far, as he ranks second in the conference with an ERA of 2.82, first in innings pitched with 44 2/3, and third in opposing batting average at .203. Inouye meanwhile leads the team with 47 strikeouts, which is tied with Fredrickson for third-most in the GNAC. Streby is fourth on the team with an ERA of 3.37, and is just two innings behind Shoup with 42 2/3 thrown on the season.
 
Although the Saints have been one of the bottom offensive teams in the league, their 21 runs scored last week at WOU were their most in a GNAC series so far this season. Aaron Renaud leads the team with a .280 batting average and 16 RBIs, and has started 23 games while playing in 28 total. Colton Peha and Austin Feist are tied for the team lead with two home runs apiece, and the duo has accounted for four of SMU's five total home runs this season.
 
Ryne Oshiro has been another effective bat, as he is second on the team with 11 RBIs to go along with four stolen bases. Micah McNicoll leads the team with seven steals, and is fourth with an on-base percentage of .369.
 
Overall SMU is batting just .225 as a team and averages 3.86 runs per game.
 
The Series: MSUB is 44-46 all-time against SMU and has a record of 19-21 in home games. MSUB has won 19 of the last 24 games between the teams.
 
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets swept the four-game series despite excellent pitching by the Saints' staff. MSUB rode one of the top all-time performances by a pitching staff in a four-game series, as it allowed just five runs – four earned – and used just six total pitchers on the weekend.