Thursday, February 22, 2018

SHEEHAN NAMED NCBWA WEST REGION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After a stellar all-around performance at the plate for Northwest Nazarene last week, senior outfielder Casey Sheehan has been named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as its Division II West Region Player of the Week.

Named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week on Monday, Sheehan batted .529 in four games for the Nighthawks, going 9 for 15 with five runs, eight RBIs, a double and four home runs in four games at CSU-Pueblo. Sheehan went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs in the opener on Friday and then went 3 for 4 with a three-run homer in the second inning of the nightcap. He wrapped the series by going 4 for 5 with a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the sixth inning of Saturday’s nightcap.

Sheehan was selected as the West Region Player of the Week over Hawaii Hilo senior infielder Phillip Steering and Cal State San Marcos senior infielder Tyler Place.

YELLOWJACKETS IN THE RANKINGS: In the latest edition of the NCBWA Division II West Region Poll, Montana State Billings is the lone GNAC team included at No. 7 with 19 points. In the preseason edition of the poll, the Yellowjackets were one of three GNAC teams receiving votes (3). Montana State Billings currently sits atop the conference at 4-3 and is the only GNAC team with a record over .500. The Yellowjackets finish their non-conference slate this weekend with a three-game series at Northern Colorado.

WESTERN OREGON PICKED TO REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS: After capturing both the regular season title and GNAC championship last year, Western Oregon is picked yet again to win the conference in the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Wolves received two first-place votes to finish with 30 points in the poll. Western Oregon clinched the regular season by 4.5 games and outscored opponents 26-10 in the GNAC Championships to claim its 14th conference title in program history.

Closely behind the Wolves is Montana State Billings, a team that won 23 games under first-year head coach Aaron Sutton. Picked second with 29 points, the Yellowjackets are one of four teams to receive a first-place vote. Montana State Billings tied for third last season and went 0-2 in the conference tournament. Central Washington is picked third with 24 points while Northwest Nazarene is picked fourth (21 points).

Rounding out the coaches poll was Saint Martin’s (fifth, 16 pts.) and Concordia (sixth, 7 pts.).

For the second season in a row, the GNAC Championships will include four teams after being a three-team tournament up until the 2017 season. The GNAC Championships will be hosted by Central Washington on May 10-11 in Ellensburg, Wash. This will be the first time in the tournament’s six-year history that the Wildcats will host the event.

THIS WEEK'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Player
Casey Sheehan, Northwest Nazarene
OF • 6-1 • Sr. • Redlands, Calif.
Sheehan batted .529 in four games for the Nighthawks, going 9 for 15 with five runs, eight RBIs, a double and four home runs in four games at CSU-Pueblo. Sheehan went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs in the opener on Friday and then went 3 for 4 with a three-run homer in the second inning of the nightcap. He wrapped the series by going 4 for 5 with a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the sixth inning of Saturday’s nightcap.

Also Nominated: James Smith III (Central Washington), Jalen Garcia (Montana State Billings).

Pitcher
Sam Wong, Montana State Billings
P • 6-4 • Jr. • Boise, Idaho
Wong earned his first win of the season in the Yellowjackets’ 9-2 win in the series finale Sunday at the College of Idaho. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits and struck out six in six innings of work on 96 pitches.

Also Nominated: Connor Stevenson (Central Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington split its four-game series at Corban with a pair of losses on Friday before earning 7-5 and 13-7 wins on Saturday.

• Freshman Mitch Lesmeister led Central Washington by batting .400 over the four games. He totaled four hits, four runs and an RBI. Two of Lesmeister’s hits came in the series finale as he went 2 for 4 while recording three runs and an RBI. The freshman improved his batting average to .375 on the season and recorded four of his six total hits in the series. He is also second on the Wildcats with a .625 slugging percentage.

• In 16 at-bats last week, senior Dustin Braun recorded six hits and four RBIs. In the final game of the series, Braun began the game with an RBI in the first inning before singling twice later on in the game to record his second and third RBI of the day. Braun is 13th in the GNAC with a .353 batting average.

• Despite taking the loss in Friday’s 2-1 defeat, junior Connor Stevenson allowed seven hits and two unearned runs in seven innings of work. Stevenson upped his strikeout tally to 11 on the season after recording six strikeouts against Corban. At 1-1, Stevenson has been a bright spot in the Wildcats’ rotation as he leads the GNAC with a 1.02 ERA.

• The Wildcats are third in the GNAC with a .272 batting average and leads the GNAC with 95 hits. Central Washington also has one of the best pitching staffs in the league as it leads all teams with a 5.46 ERA.

• Central Washington has the remainder of February off and will travel to Northwest Nazarene for a four-game series on Mar. 2.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia was swept in its second series of the season as it dropped a trio of games to Cal State San Marcos, 6-1, 8-4 and 7-1.

• Senior Andrew Barrera continues to be the spark plug for the Cavs as he hit .500 over the three games last week. Barrera compiled six hits for one RBI. He opened the series with three hits and an RBI before tallying two hits in the 8-4 loss. Barrera leads the GNAC by batting .448 and is tied for fourth with a .484 on-base percentage.

• Freshman Dylan Diaz made one appearance in relief last week as he provided 3.2 innings of work in the series opener. Diaz entered the game after 4.1 innings and limited CSUSM to just one run on four hits.

• Starting the series finale on Sunday, senior Tyler Charlton went five innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits and a strikeout. The start was his second of the season and he leads the Cavs with a 2.25 ERA and six strikeouts. Charlton has also pitched the most innings this season with 12.

• The Cavaliers are hitting .215 this season and have recorded 49 hits, eight of which have been doubles. Their pitching staff is third in the GNAC with a 6.42 ERA and have allowed the fewest earned runs in 39.

• Concordia finishes its non-conference schedule on the road this weekend with a three-game series at Holy Names.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings remains atop the GNAC at 4-3 despite falling in a three-game series to College of Idaho. The Yellowjackets opened the series with 7-6 and 13-12 losses on Saturday before earning a 9-2 win on Sunday.

• For the second straight week, an MSUB individual was awarded the GNAC Pitcher of the Week Award. Junior Sam Wong garnered recognition after earning his first win of the season in the Yellowjackets’ 9-2 win. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits and struck out six in six innings of work on 96 pitches. Wong lowered his ERA to 4.35 and is second for the Yellowjackets with six strikeouts.

• Junior Connor Linebarger led MSUB at the plate by batting .462 over the three games. He totaled six hits, four runs, an RBI and two doubles in 13 at-bats. Linebarger came up huge in the series finale as he tallied three hits and two runs with an RBI to lead the ‘Jackets. The junior is sixth in the GNAC with a .393 batting average and is tied for second with nine runs scored. 

• Junior Jalen Garcia batted .313 over the weekend, compiling five hits and a team-high five RBIs. Garcia kept MSUB alive in the opener as he accounted for four of the Yellowjackets’ six runs. Garcia recorded two runs and two RBIs in the contest after going 2 for 5. He leads the GNAC with 10 runs scored and is tied for fourth in the league with 13 hits.

• Junior Carson Woolery earned his first save of the season on Sunday after providing three innings of relief to give Wong his first win of the season.

• Montana State Billings leads the GNAC in batting average (.332), runs (79), doubles (21) and RBIs (68). 

• The Yellowjackets continue their non-conference slate at Division I Northern Colorado this weekend for a three-game series in Greeley, Colo.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene fell to 2-8 overall after dropping a four-game series to CSU Pueblo last week. The Nighthawks fell 10-9 and 10-7 on Friday before taking 11-3 and 11-7 losses on Saturday.

• After earning the GNAC Player of the Week award on Monday,  senior outfielder Casey Sheehan was named by the NCBWA as its Division II West Region Player of the Week. Sheehan batted .529 in four games for the Nighthawks, going 9 for 15 with five runs, eight RBIs, a double and four home runs in four games. Sheehan went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs in the opener on Friday and then went 3 for 4 with a three-run homer in the second inning of the nightcap. He wrapped the series by going 4 for 5 with a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the sixth inning of Saturday’s nightcap.

• Junior Zach Penrod provided additional offensive power at the plate as he drove in four runs on eight hits, three of which were home runs. Penrod finished the week batting .471 over the four games. He is second in the GNAC with a .788 slugging percentage and four doubles.

•  Northwest Nazarene is second in the league with a .277 batting average and leads the GNAC with 14 home runs. The Nighthawks also have the second-most hits in 94.

• Playing its final non-conference games of the season last week, Northwest Nazarene will begin its GNAC schedule at home on Mar. 2 with a four-game series against Central Washington.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s earned its first win last week in the season opener at Hawaii Pacific, 12-6. The Saints went on to lose the final three games 6-1, 2-1 and 1-0.

• Prior to the series, Saint Martin’s dropped a trio of contests to Hawaii Hilo on Monday and Tuesday.

• Junior Colton Peha led the Saints by batting .370 over the seven games. He managed 10 hits for four RBIs and six runs while reaching base twice on walks. Peha recorded three hits and three RBIs in the Saints’ 17-16 loss to Hawaii Hilo. With two runners on base in the first inning, Peha blasted a three-run home run to give the Saints’ an early 3-0 lead.

• Senior Steven Sordahl went 9 for 28 last week and drove in four runs. In the series finale against Hawaii Pacific, Sordahl recorded a hit in two at-bats. He is third on the Saints batting .290 and is second on the team with nine hits.

• Going six innings in the win on Friday, sophomore Tanner Inouye allowed seven hits for two earned runs with seven strikeouts. Inouye is second in the GNAC with a 1.80 ERA and is second on Saint Martin’s with seven strikeouts.

• Saint Martin’s is second among GNAC teams with a 6.13 ERA and has allowed the second-least runs. As a team, the Saints have compiled 29 RBIs and 12 doubles.

• The Saints opens conference play against Western Oregon in a four-game series scheduled for Mar. 3 and 4.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon continues to search for its first win of the season after dropping a three-game series to Cal State Monterey Bay last weekend. The Wolves were outscored 31-19, falling 13-3, 14-13 and 4-3.

• Senior Jay Leverett led all GNAC players last week by batting .556 over the three games. In just nine at-bats, Leverett recorded five hits for three runs and an RBI. His efforts in the second game of the series kept the contest close as he went 4 for 5 with three runs and an RBI double.

• Senior Jacob Martinez was second on the team as he hit .273. His three hits included an RBI and a pair of doubles. The senior also led the team with two walks. Martinez is fifth on the team with a .280 batting average and .400 slugging percentage.

• After capturing both the regular season title and GNAC championship last year, Western Oregon is picked yet again to win the conference in the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.

• Western Oregon is fourth in the GNAC with a .252 batting average. Fielding has been a strength this season as the Wolves lead the GNAC with a .964 fielding percentage, committing just nine errors all season.

• The Wolves will play their final non-conference series with a three-game road trip to Lewis-Clark State this weekend.