BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings baseball team takes on the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks in a four game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series scheduled to kick off on Friday.
 
This Week's Schedule
Friday, April 29 – 3 p.m. doubleheader
Saturday, April 30 – noon doubleheader
 
The Yellowjackets (22-20, 13-11 GNAC) will play both days at the Vail Baseball Field in Nampa, Idaho. Live video for the games will be available online here, and live statistics will be available online here.
 
MSUB returns to action after hosting Saint Martin's University in a four-game series, where the 'Jackets split the series against the Saints. It was a taxing weekend for both teams, with the first doubleheaders running past midnight, and day two featured a quick turnaround, a venue change, and torrential downpour.
 
There are now two series until the beginning of the GNAC tournament. With eight games left on the schedule, the Yellowjackets sit in third place, four games behind the second place Nighthawks. Since the first meeting between these two teams at the end of March, Northwest Nazarene has gone 6-6, while MSUB has gone 7-5. Both teams are hoping to build momentum as they approach postseason play.
 
The top-three teams at the end of the regular season earn a berth into the GNAC Championships, which are set for May 12-13 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore. Entering this week, the Yellowjackets stand three games clear of fourth place Saint Martin's and have a magic number of 5 to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. The winner of the tournament will earn the GNAC's automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA D2 West Region Championships.
 
HOULIHAN HURLS GEM: In the dead of night Thursday, sophomore starter Matthew Houlihan put together the best start of his career in blue and yellow. Houlihan threw a complete game in a seven-inning affair, his third such game of the season, and struck out 11 batters, only allowing the Saints to record a single hit on his way to earning awards for GNAC Pitcher of the Week, and NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week. Houlihan now owns a 4.42 season ERA, with an even lower 2.31 ERA in GNAC games.
 
WINTER'S POWER SURGE: Freshman first baseman/DH Mitch Winter tore the cover off the ball all series for the Yellowjackets, hitting four home runs and driving in eight RBIs against Saint Martin's. Following a pinch-hit appearance late in the first game of the series, Winter's two-run drive to right field proved to be the difference in a game two victory for the 'Jackets. He followed that up with another three long balls on day two, collecting both the GNAC and NCBWA hitter of the week awards to complement Houlihan's pitching excellence.
GREEN PERFORMS WELL: The leadoff hitter and centerfielder for the Yellowjackets, Carson Green proved a challenge for Saint Martin's to get out all weekend. Collecting four hits and five walks across all four games, Green hit two solo home runs in game three of the series, the first multi-home run game of his career as a Yellowjacket.
 
ZIMMER COMES IN CLUTCH: In a high scoring game four, the 'Jackets needed a clutch performance on the mound to help mount a comeback. They got just that from Brooks Zimmer. The right hander came on in relief to throw 3.1 innings, only allowing one run on two hits to shut down the Saints hitters. Zimmer went on to earn his second win of the year as the 'Jackets scored 13 unanswered runs to pull out the win.
 
WAYMENT SHOWS POTENTIAL: Freshman pitcher Sage Wayment showed his capabilities in relief as he recorded the longest appearance of his career against the Saints. The righty threw five complete innings after replacing Jackson Betancourt, allowing four hits and striking out two.
 
BLAIR STEPS UP: A deep group of players has benefitted the Yellowjackets this season. Countless times this season players have come in off the bench and stepped up for MSUB. This time it was Kevin Blair. The freshman entered the final game against St. Martin's as a pinch runner, and stayed in the game, going 2-for-2, scoring two runs and collecting the go-ahead hit on a three-run double in the sixth inning.
 
THE BUZZIES: Tuesday night, multiple Yellowjackets were honored at The Buzzies, the award ceremony for MSUB athletics during the 2021-2022 year. Freshman phenom Cooper Dulich, who leads the Yellowjackets in batting average at .344, won the award for Baseball Player of the Year. Senior Dominick Buso earned Breakout Player of the Year for the entire department. Buso went from featuring in three games last season, to 37 so far in the 2022 season, batting .283 with one home run and 16 RBIs. Tyler Godfrey's back-to-back walk off heroics against Western Oregon were recognized with an award for Moment/Play of the year for Yellowjacket Athletics. Junior Hayden Foltz also received an award for his work on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Other nominations included Dulich for Male Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year, PJ Ausmus for Comeback Player of the Year, James Anderson for Newcomer of the Year, Head Coach Derek Waddoups for Coach of the Year, and the entire team was in the running for Team of the Year.
 

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Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
2022 Record: 25-19, (17-11 GNAC)
Head Coach: Joe Schaefer, fourth season
First Season Series: NNU 2, MSUB 2 (March 25-26 in Billings, MT)
 
The Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks are coming off a 3-1 series loss against GNAC leaders Western Oregon University. Since sweeping a series against Central Washington, the Nighthawks have dropped six of their last eight. This will be the final bit of regular season action for Northwest Nazarene this season, with an off week before the GNAC championships.
 
The bats for Northwest Nazarene have cooled as of late. The team ranks third in the GNAC with runs but hasn't scored more than five in a game since April 8. That's not to say that the Nighthawks hitters lack talent, however. The team leads the GNAC in home runs, and has some of the top hitters in the GNAC. Two-way player Haden Keller leads the way with a .313 average, five home runs and 20 RBIs. Parker Price has driven in more runs than anyone with 36. And the duo of Kerry Grant and Duke Pahukoa pack series power. Grant is tied for the GNAC lead in home runs with nine, and Pahukoa's six put him inside the top 10.
 
A deep group of pitchers can keep the Nighthawks in any game, regardless of how the bats perform. Keller owns a 6-3 record, with a 3.30 ERA, and his 54 strikeouts are tied for the team lead with fellow starter Kyle Ethridge. Brock Moffitt is another pitcher to watch, with a 3.16 ERA in 12 appearances (7 starts). The bullpen is also among the best at their level, with 13 saves this season spread between Max Holtzclaw (10) and Blake McFadden (3).
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets have an all-time record of 58-59 against the Nighthawks. MSUB will be looking to win their first games in Nampa since 2019.