By: Evan O'Kelly, Director of Communications
BILLINGS, Mont. – Closing the 2021 regular season at home this weekend, the Montana State University Billings baseball team is set to host Central Washington University in a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series at Dehler Park.
Doubleheaders against the Wildcats are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon and noon on Saturday, with live video
available online here and live statistics
available online here. Per GNAC mandate, no fans are allowed at MSUB home baseball games during the 2021 spring season.
The Yellowjackets enter the week with a record of 8-28 overall and are 8-20 in conference play to sit in fourth place. The Wildcats are 11-9 overall and are 9-7 in league play, and are in third place in the GNAC standings. The top-three teams in the GNAC standings at the end of the regular season earn a spot in the GNAC Championships.
If Central Washington loses its eight remaining games, including all four this week against MSUB, then the teams would tie for third place in the GNAC standings with a winning percentage of .375. In that scenario, MSUB would earn a berth into the postseason by virtue of a 5-3 season record in head-to-head meetings against CWU.
The Yellowjackets are coming off four losses to Western Oregon University last week as the Wolves swept the series at Dehler Park. If the 'Jackets can sweep this week's series and keep their playoff hopes alive, they will have a bye week leading up to the GNAC Championships which are scheduled for May 20-21 in Nampa, Idaho.
CIPRIANO HITS ANOTHER HR: Senior slugger
Daniel Cipriano hit his GNAC-leading 13th home run of the season and the 38th of his career last week against the Wolves, as he continued to build upon his school-record long ball total. Entering the final week of the regular season, Cipriano is five home runs away from the GNAC career record of 43, held by Chandler Tracy of Saint Martin's University. He is the GNAC career leader in slugging percentage at .774, and his .368 career batting average is the highest in MSUB history.
RILEY LEADS LEAGUE IN HITS: Senior infielder
Will Riley leads the GNAC with 57 hits this season, and he is coming off a productive week with a line of 8-for-17 in the series against WOU. Riley leads the GNAC with 15 doubles, while adding a pair of triples and six home runs for a slugging percentage of .653. Riley's .396 batting average is the top mark on the team, and he is reaching base at a clip of .470.
MSUB Baseball Single-Season Batting Average Records (as of May 6, 2021) – Minimum 100 AB
| Rank |
Player |
Average |
Season |
| 1 |
Kaleo Johnson |
.412 |
2018 |
| 2 |
Daniel Cipriano |
.405 |
2019 |
| 3 |
Will Riley |
.396 |
2021 |
| 4 |
Brody Miller |
.392 |
2014 |
| 5 |
Matt Schoonover |
.378 |
2007 |
|
Kyle Durbin |
.378 |
2016 |
| 7 |
Ty Gilmore |
.373 |
2012 |
| 8 |
Adam Cox |
.371 |
2016 |
| 9 |
Luke Reinschmidt |
.370 |
2015 |
| 10 |
Stefan Malkuch |
.364 |
2009 |
CANTWELL REACHES DOUBLE-DIGIT HR: Senior
Tanner Cantwell homered twice last week, becoming the 12th player in school history to hit 10 or more home runs in a single season. Cantwell's 10 long balls rank him tied for third in the GNAC this spring, and he is fourth in the league with 34 RBIs. Cantwell also moved to No. 10 in school history with 14 career home runs. Cantwell became the third active Yellowjacket in the top-10 in home runs, joining Cipriano (1) and
Chris Arpan (T6).
MSUB Baseball Career Home Run Leaders (as of May 6, 2021)
SLICE HOMERS TWICE, REACHES 100 RBIs: Senior
Andrew Schleusner had his first-ever multi-home run game last week, clearing the fence twice against the Wolves. The two long balls upped Schleusner's season total to six and his career total to 12, and he also became the sixth player in MSUB history to reach 100-career runs batted in.
MSUB Baseball Career Runs Batted In Leaders (as of May 6, 2021)
FOLTZ PUTS TOGETHER BIG SERIES: Junior outfielder
Hayden Foltz enjoyed his best offensive series of the season, going 7-for-11 and hitting his first home run of the year against the Wolves. Foltz's big series included a season-high four hits in Game 3 against WOU, and he also drove in three runs while scoring twice.
RUNION SHINES IN DEBUT: Redshirt freshman left-hander
Hunter Runion stole the show in his first collegiate outing on the mound, throwing 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief in his appearance against WOU. Runion gave up just one hit, while striking out a pair of batters in the effective performance.
'JACKETS 11TH IN NCAA IN HR: MSUB has hit 66 home runs this season, ranking the team tied for 11th in NCAA Division II baseball. The Yellowjackets are second in the west region behind Azusa Pacific (74 home runs), and the total is the third most in MSUB single-season history.
Central Washington University Wildcats
2021 Record: 11-9, 9-7 GNAC
All-Time Series: MSUB 56, CWU 52
Series at Billings, MT: MSUB 24, CWU 22
Last Meeting: CWU 3, MSUB 1 (April 2-3 at Ellensburg, WA)
The Wildcats are in complete control of their postseason fate, needing just one more win to clinch the final playoff spot and make it impossible for MSUB to catch them in the standings. Even if CWU was swept this weekend at MSUB, it would still need just one win in a four-game series at home against Saint Martin's on May 13-14 to close the regular season and clinch a berth.
CWU has not played in nearly a month, with its previous two scheduled series being canceled due to coronavirus protocols. The Wildcats were last in action on April 10-11 with a 3-1 series win over Saint Martin's on the road.
Zach Berryman and Justin Hampson are the top two hitters in the GNAC, with batting averages of .463 and .457, respectively. Tyler McClain leads the team with three home runs while Mitch Lesmeister has a team-high 22 RBIs.
On the mound, Dylan Weese has been the top starter with a 1.16 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings of work. Dillon Larsen has made five starts and Reid Rasmussen has made four as those two are the Wildcats' other regular starters.
