BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings baseball team hits the road to face Saint Martin's University in a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series set to kick off on Friday.
 
This Week's Schedule
Friday, March 18 – 11 a.m. – Yelm High School
Saturday, March 19 – Noon doubleheader – SMU Baseball Field
Sunday, March 20 – Noon – SMU Baseball Field
 
An unfavorable weather forecast stretched the series out to three days, with Friday's game being played at nearby Yelm High School and the final three games all scheduled to be played at the SMU Baseball Field. Live video will be available online here, and live statistics will be available online here.
 
MSUB (10-12) is coming off a doubleheader against the University of Mary, where it split games against the Marauders. It was the 'Jackets first home action of the season. "Last weekend was a great non-conference opportunity to prepare our group," said Yellowjackets head coach Derek Waddoups. "You never know what will happen as we continue to move throughout the season, so it is nice to get some guys some innings so they can be prepared for their opportunity to be the next man up."
 
The 'Jackets will be looking to grab their first conference series win against the Saint Martin's Saints, who are currently tied with the 'Jackets in the conference standings at 1-3. "We are excited to get back to GNAC competition this weekend," said Waddoups. "Saint Martin's has a competitive group, and we will need to play catch this weekend to achieve our team goals."
 
WALK OFF HERO HERNANDEZ: With one out and two on board in the bottom of the ninth against Mary, Diego Hernandez smacked a three-run home run over the right centerfield wall to give the 'Jackets a walk-off victory against the Marauders. It was Hernandez's first home run of the season, and the first walk off victory for the Yellowjackets since 2019. The sophomore went 3-for-6 combined in the doubleheader, while earning St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for his performance. "The walk off home run by Diego Hernandez was a good, clutch win for the group," said Waddoups. "We hope to ride that energy into the conference games this weekend."
 
POWELL DEBUTS STRONG: Sophomore Mason Powell made his season debut starting at third in both games against the University of Mary, and what a debut it was. Powell took the first pitch he saw all season to deep left field for a home run. Combined he went 4-for-6 against the Marauders, with three runs and an RBI.
 
ANDERSON HOMERS AGAIN: James Anderson hit an opposite field home run in the opening game of the series against Mary to increase his season total to five. Anderson leads all Yellowjacket hitters in home runs on the season, to go with 16 RBIs and a .268 batting average.
 
AUSMUS' HUGE HIT: Infielder PJ Ausmus collected his first RBIs on the season with a massive three-run double to keep the pace for MSUB in the opening game of the doubleheader against Mary. Ausmus also scored a run while starting at second base in the first game of the series.
 
BIG DAY FOR BLAIR: Freshman Kevin Blair collected an RBI in the opening game against the University of Mary, and then went 2-for-3 in the second game of the series. It was Blair's first multi-hit game for the 'Jackets.
 
DULICH STREAKING: Cooper Dulich is in the middle of a huge breakout season for the Yellowjackets, and on top of his .397 batting average, he also carries an eight-game hitting streak into the series against Saint Martin's.
 
BARKLEY STATS UPDATE: Throughout this season, junior Dylan Barkley has continued to climb MSUB's career pitching leaderboards, and that did not stop with his start Saturday against Mary. Barkley started the first game of the doubleheader, striking out five in 3 2/3 innings of work. Although his shortest appearance of the year, it moved Barkley into a tie for fifth for most games started as a Yellowjacket. A start against Saint Martin's would see the lefty move into a three-way tie for third place.
 
Barkley also currently sits in sixth for all time innings pitched (160), fourth in strikeouts (165), and tied for fourth in wins (11).
 
PITCHING RUNDOWN: Across the doubleheader, the Yellowjackets were able to feature 12 different pitchers. These included season debuts for arms Sage Wayment, Logan Wensley, and Nolan Thebiay. Mike Ouwehand, along with Matthew Houlihan, Hunter Runion, Michael Buchanan, and Logan Siblerud, made scoreless appearances for MSUB. Wayment, along with fellow reliever Tyler Elliot, managed to strike out four batters each in two innings of work. Finally, the 'Jackets two most successful bats in this series, (Powell and Hernandez) are both also listed as pitchers, having both thrown for the Yellowjackets in their careers.
 

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Saint Martin's University Saints
2022 Record: 6-15, 1-3 GNAC
Head Coach: Kelly Gau, 4th season
2021 Record: 8-32, 4-28 in GNAC
 
Saint Martin's enters the series against MSUB coming off its first conference series of the year against Northwest Nazarene, where it dropped 3 of 4 games. It dropped the Saints' record this season to 6-15. Saint Martin's has lost seven of the past eight games they've played, although they have won their lone home matchup of the season so far.
The Saints boast an interesting collection of hitters. Bryant Nakagawa leads the team in average at .412, with Mark Steward following him at .313. Slugging infielder Aaron Renaud leads the team with five long balls and gets on base as well as anyone in the Saints lineup. Finally, outfielder Reid Little and his 11 RBIs top the chart for Saint Martin's.
 
On the mound, Justice Yamashita and Finnley Butler lead the Saints rotation. Yamashita owns a 2.74 ERA and is adept at striking out batters with 26 punchouts in 23 innings pitched. Butler is right behind him in ERA and wins, giving Saint Martin's adept pitching at the top of the rotation. In the bullpen, watch out for senior Ryan Driscoll. In his nine appearances this season, he has a 0.61 ERA, only allowing one earned run and two walks to opposing teams.
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets have a 56-51-1 all-time record against the Saints, with a better record facing Saint Martin's on the road (27-24-1) than in Billings (24-25).
 
Last Time Out: MSUB last faced Saint Martin's in Washington and at home last season, and the 'Jackets managed to win 6 of 8, including a 19-8 win, the most runs the Yellowjackets scored in a game last year.