BILLINGS, Mont. – After opening the season with three straight road series, the Montana State University Billings baseball team will make its 2021 home debut this weekend with a Great Northwest Athletic Conference series against Saint Martin's University.
 
Doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday at Dehler Park. Live video for all four games will be available online here, and live statistics will be available online here. Per GNAC mandate, no fans are allowed at MSUB home baseball games in the spring 2021 season. "Everyone is looking forward to getting out and playing at Dehler," said redshirt freshman Dylan Johnson. "Losing and winning is contagious, and once we get that first win under our belt we are going to roll."
 
The Yellowjackets (0-12, 0-4 GNAC) are coming off a four-game series at No. 19 Northwest Nazarene University last weekend in Nampa, Idaho. After making its home debut this weekend, the team will play eight straight games on the road with series at Western Oregon University and Central Washington University over the next two weeks. "We keep competing and we have had guys step up in different roles, and we just need to put the game together," said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups. "I think our pitching staff is hungry to get back on the mound, compete, and show that they have the ability to do it."
 
CIPRIANO CONTINUES PRODUCTION AT THE PLATE: Senior Daniel Cipriano hit three more home runs last week, upping his career total to 32 and moving into sole possession of the No. 2 spot in GNAC history. Cipriano hit a pair of three-run home runs in the third game against the Nighthawks, matching his career single-game best with six RBIs. He became the first player in MSUB history to reach 30 home runs, and he is 11 shy of the all-time GNAC record of 43 held by Chandler Tracy of Saint Martin's University.
 
RILEY LEADS GNAC IN HITS: MSUB leadoff man Will Riley leads the GNAC with 23 hits so far on the year, and is sixth in the league with a .469 batting average through the first 12 games of the spring. Riley had multiple hits in each of the four games last week at NNU, and carries a seven-game hitting streak into this weekend against the Saints. Riley also owns a GNAC-third best .918 slugging percentage, as he ranks second in the league in doubles with five and third in home runs with five.
 
BABCOCK-BARRIE, CLARK HIT FIRST HRs: True freshmen Ethan Babcock-Barrie and Brayden Clark each hit their first career home run last week against NNU. Babcock-Barrie did it during a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, while Clark's was a solo shot in the series finale.
 
PIPPIN POSTS ANOTHER STRONG OUTING: Freshman right-hander Braelen Pippin logged another solid outing on the mound, surrendering one earned run on one hit with four strikeouts in two innings of work. It was the first earned run he has allowed this season in three appearances, as he holds a team-best 2.08 ERA thus far.
 
JOHNSON STRONG ON MOUND: Redshirt freshman Dylan Johnson tossed three solid innings in the series against NNU, giving up just one run while striking out three in his most recent appearance. It was the right-hander's best outing of the season thus far. "I just try to stay ready, and I never know when I'm going to get the call from right field to come in and pitch," Johnson said. "I try to go off tendencies of the hitters and see what umps are giving as strikes and balls, and seeing swing tendencies from the outfield actually helps me as a pitcher."
 
"Dylan is just a competitor, and he has had some outstanding outings for us," Waddoups said. "He pitched really well at Northwest Nazarene, and put up a couple of zeroes on the board when we hadn't been doing that all weekend. He is a good athlete who can do it all, and we are just trying to utilize his skillset to the best of his ability."
 
HOULIHAN HITS CAREER HIGH MARK: Matthew Houlihan had a career-best eight strikeouts in his outing last week, as he gave up just one earned run and three hits in four strong innings of work. It was the righty's lengthiest pitching appearance of the spring, and so far he has logged 9 2/3 innings over three starts.
 
Saint Martin's University Saints
Friday, March 19 – 1 PM Doubleheader – Dehler Park
Saturday, March 20 – 12 PM Doubleheader – Dehler Park
 
Saint Martin's is off to a 3-3 start this season, with all six contests being non-conference affairs against GNAC teams. The Saints split a four-game series against Central Washington to kick off the year, before splitting a doubleheader at Western Oregon in their most recent outing on March 4.
 
After opening conference play against the Yellowjackets this weekend, SMU will host Northwest Nazarene in a four-game series on March 26-27.
 
Aaron Renaud has been SMU's most productive hitter this spring, with a .333 batting average and team highs of two home runs, an .867 slugging percentage, and a 1.311 OPS. Among the Saints' starting pitchers, Justice Yamashita has the best numbers with a 1.50 ERA and five strikeouts against no walks in his six innings pitched.
 
The Series: MSUB has a 50-47-1 all-time record against SMU and is 21-25 in home games against the Saints. The Saints took 2 of 3 games between the teams last season, before the finale ended in a 3-3 tie and proved to be the final contest of the 2020 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 
"They did a good job against us last year at their place, and it'll be a fun series," Waddoups commented on facing the Saints. "They are a competitive group, and their top-end rotation arms are pretty good. In GNAC baseball every weekend is a grind, and it's fun to compete in the league."