PORTLAND, Ore. – Behind 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year
Aaron Sutton and Player of the Year
Daniel Cipriano, the Montana State University Billings baseball team dominated the all-conference awards which were announced by the conference office Tuesday.
In his third season in charge of the MSUB program, Sutton piloted MSUB to its second straight regular-season title and its fourth championship in the last five seasons. After starting the year 0-11, MSUB has gone 30-7 since then and won the league with a GNAC-record 30 victories during conference play. The 'Jackets enter this week's GNAC Championships tournament as the No. 1 seed, and play No. 4 seed Saint Martin's University at 6 p.m. Pacific time/7 p.m. Mountain on Wednesday at Porter Park in Portland.
Not only was Cipriano named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year, but he was voted by the coaches as the top player in the league in the midst of a historic season. As of Tuesday, Cipriano leads the GNAC in batting average (.409), slugging percentage (.846), on-base percentage (.534), home runs (17), RBIs (50), runs scored (53), and times hit by a pitch (24). Cipriano is No. 2 in the NCAA with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.380, and he is one home run shy of the GNAC single-season record of 18 set by Kyle Sani of Central Washington in 2013.
"There wasn't a player in the league who had a bigger impact on their team's success than Daniel," said Sutton. "He played a major role in changing the course of our season, and his season will go down as one of the best in conference history. The consistency in Cip's play over the season really stuck out, and we know our guys are very excited to see him recognized by the other coaches in the conference with this high honor."
Cipriano, who had a school-record streak of 42 consecutive games reaching base, is the second player in school history to earn the GNAC's top award. Brody Miller, a three-time All-American, won back-to-back GNAC Player of the Year awards in the 2014-15 seasons.
The Agoura Hills, California native led six Yellowjackets who earned first-team all-conference honors, while two more were second-team picks and five MSUB players earned honorable mention. MSUB's total of 13 players recognized was the highest in the league.
Yellowjackets on the 2019 All-GNAC Teams
*Unanimous Selection; !-Player of the Year; @-Newcomer of the Year; +First Team in 2018; #-Second Team in 2018; &-Second Team in 2017
All six of MSUB's first-team selections were unanimously picked by the coaches, and five of them were repeat all-league winners. Seniors
Steen Fredrickson and
Jalen Garcia were each first-team all-GNAC picks in 2018, while junior
Andrew Schleusner and sophomore
Wyatt Setian were each second-team picks a year ago. Saving his best season for last, senior
Matt Dillon earned first-team all-league honors for the first time.
"This is a stellar group of guys on the first team," Sutton said. "We got unbelievable play and leadership from the three seniors over the course of their careers, so it is very deserving for them to be recognized as the top of the conference. Setian and Schleusner made another jump this year, and it is a testament to what they bring day-in and day-out to this ball club."
Garcia, who was MSUB's lone three-time all-league selection after garnering second-team honors as a sophomore in 2017, is batting .366 this spring with 14 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, and 32 RBIs. Garcia is also slugging at a clip of .651 and reaching base at .414, and leads the team with a dozen stolen bases this spring.
Fredrickson has put together the best numbers of his collegiate career, leading the GNAC with 74 1/3 innings pitched and ranking second in strikeouts (79) and earned run average (3.87). Fredrickson is 6-1 on the year, and the opposition is hitting just .239 off of him which is third-best in the league.
Dillon's 15 home runs are the second most in the conference, and he is also No. 2 with a slugging percentage of .687 this spring. Dillon has also racked up a dozen doubles, and is reaching base at a clip of .416 while starting 44 games in right field.
Setian was the only underclassman in the conference to earn first-team honors, as he leads the league with 68 hits and 19 doubles. The sophomore shortstop is batting .351 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs coming out of the leadoff spot, and is the only MSUB player to start all 48 games on the year.
Schleusner has been another mainstay in MSUB's lineup, batting .305 with 13 doubles and 29 RBIs on the season. He earned both GNAC and NCBWA West Region Player of the Week honors earlier this spring, and has started 36 games split between DH and catching.
Landon Peterson earned all-conference accolades for the first time on the second team, after putting together his best season yet. The fifth-year senior is batting .324, and ranks fourth on the team with an on-base percentage of .460. Peterson has started 33 games as MSUB's primary catcher, and on Friday broke the MSUB career putouts record with 757.
In his first year with the 'Jackets, second-team pick
Chris Arpan has had a profound impact as one of the top sluggers in the league. He is tied for fourth on the team with nine home runs, while driving in 32 and holding a lofty .370 batting average. Arpan also reaches base at a clip of .463, and is third on the team with a slugging percentage of .659. "There were some really good players in the league this year at these guys' positions, so it is great to see Chris and Landon come out with some recognition," Sutton said on the second-teamers. "Chris provided a lot of protection to our top hitters, and played a very good defensive third base. Landon has been a rock for this program throughout his career, and for him to have such a stellar senior season is well-deserving."
Another newcomer to MSUB's lineup,
Tyler Detloff battled injury throughout the year and had some of the team's most timely hits to earn honorable mention all-league. Detloff has posted a .516 slugging percentage, thanks to six doubles and five home runs despite starting 26 games.
Senior
Conner Linebarger has also been hampered by injury all season long, but was voted an honorable mention pick after hitting .288 with 19 RBIs in his 36 games played this spring. Linebarger is also reaching base at a clip of .375, and is No. 7 in MSUB history with 144 career hits in just three seasons.
Coming into the program as a senior,
Jarrod Molnaa has been a key force in solidifying MSUB's rotation and he earned honorable mention all-conference. The righty leads the GNAC with seven wins, while carrying a 4.91 ERA over 12 starts and striking out 65 in 62 1/3 innings pitched.
Junior
Keven Mackintosh has had a similarly impressive impact in the rotation, and also received honorable mention all-GNAC. The left-hander has made 11 starts, and has 61 strikeouts against only 11 walks in his 56 innings of work.
Freshman
Brooks Zimmer got off to a stellar start to his collegiate career, and was another honorable mention pick despite being sidelined with an injury for much of the season. Zimmer picked up six saves early on in the season, and struck out 20 against six walks in 18 innings while carrying a 2.50 ERA.
"Overall, I thought our club had great recognition on the all-conference awards, and the guys mentioned here had just as big of an impact on our team's success," Sutton commented on the honorable mention picks. "Our club doesn't do what it does without the help of each guy on our roster, and we know that each guy receiving an all-conference award is very honored to represent their teammates on this list of tremendous student-athletes from the GNAC."
Alex Roth of Western Oregon University repeated as the GNAC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season, while the Wolves' Jacob Maiben was picked by the coaches as the GNAC Freshman of the Year.
