Thursday, January 24, 2019
PORTLAND, Ore. – With first pitch of the GNAC baseball season just over a week away, the conference was recognized with five selections to the 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Division II West Region Team.
Montana State Billings outfielder Jalen Garcia leads the GNAC as the lone first-team selection following a standout 2018 season. Garcia is joined by senior teammates Conner Linebarger and Steen Fredrickson in addition to Western Oregon catcher Jared McDonald and first baseman Connor McCord as selections to the second team.
An All-West Region selection just a year ago, Garcia is back and will be counted on to help lead MSUB back to the top of the conference standings in 2019. The senior is coming off one of the top statistical seasons in school history, leading the GNAC and breaking a single-season record for stolen bases with 25. At the plate, Garcia hit at a .351 average while driving in 51 runs.
Playing in front of Garcia will be Linebarger and Fredrickson. Linebarger was a First Team All-GNAC utility selection in 2018, playing primarily at second base while batting .333. On the mound, Fredrickson is coming off a season in which he earned GNAC co-Pitcher of the Year honors. The right-hander finished the year on top of the conference in strikeouts (70) and wins (seven) and will lead his club's pitching staff into the 2019 campaign.
Rounding out the second team are a pair of Wolves who will be looking to build on the team's GNAC Championships title from last May. McDonald, now a senior behind the plate, earned a First Team All-GNAC nod a year ago after hitting .349 with a team-leading .602 slugging percentage. In the field, the junior first baseman McCord is coming off Second Team All-GNAC honors in 2018. He will look to bring some pop to the lineup after smashing a team-high 11 home runs in 2018.
To go with their five combined selections, Montana State Billings (No. 7) and Western Oregon (No. 9) are both ranked in the NCBWA Division II West Region Preseason Poll.
The 2019 campaign begins on Feb. 1 with Central Washington and Saint Martin's beginning their seasons in California while Concordia hosts Lewis-Clark State. Conference play will start on March 1 when the Cavaliers host Northwest Nazarene.