Wednesday, April 30, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – With three Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball teams each in contention for the third championship tournament berth, the final weekend of regular season play will prove to be crucial.

Northwest Nazarene (16-27, 11-15 GNAC) currently occupies the third place slot in the standings, with Montana State Billings (12-28, 9-17) close behind.

The two teams will play six total games this weekend, the first of which being the completion of an earlier game that was halted in the seventh inning due to rain. The Yellowjackets lead the game in progress by a score of 9-8, and will have to win four out of the six games this weekend in order to have a chance to earn a postseason berth. 

Meanwhile, Saint Martin’s (15-28, 11-17) sits less than one game behind NNU in the standings, and faces a critical four-game series against Central Washington (28-15, 17-11). In order to maintain hope for a playoff berth, the Saints must win at least three of their four games this weekend.

The team emerging with the No. 3 seed after this weekend will join regular season champion and host Western Oregon (29-17, 22-10) and No. 2 seed Central Washington at the GNAC Baseball Championships in Monmouth, Ore., May 8-9.

In the latest NCAA West Region rankings, Western Oregon fell two spots to No. 8. Eventually, the top six teams in the rankings will determine the field for the 2014 NCAA regional playoffs. 

Earning National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association West Region Player of the Week honors was Eric Tinnell from Central Washington, who was 8-for-18 with two doubles, a home run, six runs scored and four RBI last week.

Tinnell helped the Wildcats earn a 3-1 series victory over Montana State Billings and wrap up the No. 2 seed heading into the conference tournament. The regional award followed Tinnell’s selection as the GNAC Red Lion Player of the Week.

Earning Red Lion Pitcher of the Week honors was Colben McGuire of Northwest Nazarene, who turned in a stellar 9-inning complete game against NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State last week. 

Pitching the series finale, McGuire did not allow a run through eight innings, but a ninth inning tally was enough for the Warriors to escape with a 1-0 victory. McGuire suffered the tough loss, despite striking out four and walking none during the terrific outing.

After tying the GNAC career home run record last week, Saint Martin’s junior Chandler Tracy homered twice last week to obtain sole possession of the title. Tracy launched career home run No. 30 in the Saints’ first game last week, solidifying the catcher as the conference’s all-time leader in that category.

Central Washington’s Ethan Sterkel, who earned NCBWA West Region Player of the Week honors earlier this season, is currently atop the conference with a .397 batting average.

Close behind Sterkel is Montana State Billings junior Brody Miller, who leads the conference with 60 hits and is batting .395.

From the mound, Western Oregon junior Eric Huson has the top ERA among qualifiers at 1.81, and CWU’s Brandon Williams is the other player below the 2.00 mark in that category at 1.95.

Huson is holding opponents to a .227 batting average this season, and is the lone pitcher to have logged a 9-inning shutout.

Williams leads the GNAC with 74 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched, and is one of two players to record multiple 10-strikeout games this season.

NNU senior Aaron Vaughn leads the conference with 74.1 innings pitched and has struck out 70 batters against just 15 walks this season. Vaughn’s nine victories are the most in the GNAC, and his 17 career wins are tied for sixth-most in conference history.

Central Washington junior Cory Welch leads the conference with 10 saves this season, and has also played 40 games at shortstop for the Wildcats. Welch’s 36 runs scored are the second most in the conference, and he has also contributed seven stolen bases this season.

Wildcat junior Kasey Bielec leads the conference in RBI with 37, and is batting .345 with 11 doubles and seven home runs this season. 

Daniel McNabb has been the top hitter for Western Oregon, and ranks second to Bielec in RBI with 35. The senior outfielder is batting .352 and his 57 hits are second-most in the conference.

NCAA West Region Rankings (April 30): 1. Cal Baptist (35-11); 2. Cal State Chico (35-9); 3. Cal Poly Pomona (30-13); 4. UC San Diego (29-13); 5. Dixie State (32-14); 6. Cal State East Bay (27-17); 7. Hawaii Pacific (27-15); 8. Western Oregon (29-17).

GNAC Weekly