Thursday, February 27, 2020

BILLINGS HIT PARADE: The Montana State Billings batters rode the Pirtz Field merry-go-round in the Yellowjackets’ three-game sweep of Colorado Mines.

The Yellowjackets outscored the Orediggers 42-22. Half of those runs for both teams came in the 21-11 series opener as the Jackets and Orediggers combined for nine home runs. Seniors Daniel Cipriano and Chris Arpan led the Jackets with three homers apiece while fellow senior Sam Powers hit two homers of his own.

Cipriano was named the GNAC Player of the Week for the second straight week after he went 6 for 11 with eight runs, 10 RBI, a double and three homers in the series. His week included a grand slam in Saturday’s 21-11 hit parade and a pair of homers in Saturday’s 11-8, seven-inning victory. Cipriano leads the GNAC with five home runs, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored. His five homers also rank 13th in Division II. Cipriano was also named the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week.

REPRESENTATION IN THE RANKINGS: Montana State Billings moved up one spot to No. 4 in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings while Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon are among others receiving votes. The Yellowjackets are also among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA National Rankings.

CONFERENCE PLAY OPENS: GNAC play opens for all six of the conference’s teams this week. Central Washington will host Northwest Nazarene in a doubleheader on Friday to get things started. Concordia will also host Saint Martin’s while Western Oregon and Montana State Billings face off for the first time this season in Monmouth, Oregon.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Daniel Cipriano, Montana State Billings
IF • 6-3 • Sr. • Agoura Hills, Calif.

Cipriano repeated as the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after he hit .545 in the Yellowjackets’ three-game home sweep of Colorado Mines. He went 6 for 11 with eight runs, 10 RBI, a double and three home runs. His week included going 2 for 4 with a grand slam and a two-run double in Saturday’s 21-11 rout and a 2 for 3 performance in the nightcap with a pair of home runs.

Also Nominated: Matt Bergevin (Concordia), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s).

PITCHER
Ryan Gibson, Concordia
RHP • 6-0 • Sr. • Fremont, Calif.

Gibson earned his first win of the season in the Cavaliers’ 2-0 shutout of No. 16 Dixie State on Sunday. In the start, Gibson allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four. He threw 95 pitches in the victory, 60 for strikes.

Also Nominated: Dylan Barkley (Montana State Billings), Kyle Ethridge (Northwest Nazarene), Harrison Goebel (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not play last week.

• The Wildcats dropped to 3-7 overall after losing two out of three games at Corban on Feb. 14-15.

• The Wildcats rank second in the GNAC with a .278 batting average, a .367 slugging percentage, a .382 on-base percentage, 93 hits, 48 RBI and 52 runs scored.

• Justin Hampson leads the GNAC with 17 hits and ranks fourth in the conference with a .447 batting average. Hampson is 17 for 38 on the season with two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored.

• Dillon Larson leads the Wildcats on the mound with a 4.50 earned run average and is tied for the conference lead in strikeouts with 19. He has allowed five hits and nine runs, seven earned, while walking eight in 14 innings pitched.

• The Wildcats will open conference play at home this week, starting a four-game series with Northwest Nazarene on Friday.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia won one of three games at nationally-ranked Dixie State last week. The Cavaliers shut out the Trailblazers 2-0 in Sunday’s opener to pick up their first win of the season.

• Tyson Cooper led the Cavs at the plate with a .500 batting average, going 5 for 10 with a double, an RBI and a run scored on the week. Cooper went 2 for 4 in Sunday’s 2-0 shutout and also reached on an error in the fifth inning, which plated the second run for the Cavs.

• Matt Bergevin went 4 for 11 in the series with three RBI and a run scored. Bergevin went 3 for 4 with a two-RBI home run to left center in the Cavs’ 10-4 loss in the finale.

• Ryan Gibson was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after he earned his first win of the season in the 2-0 shutout. Gibson allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four. He threw 95 pitches, 60 for strikes. Gibson is third in the conference with a 1.12 earned run average.

• The Cavs will open conference play at home, hosting a four-game series with Saint Martin’s on Saturday and Sunday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings swept its three-game home series against Colorado Mines. The Yellowjackets scored 42 runs in the series, winning 21-11 and 11-8 on Saturday before taking the finale on Sunday, 10-3.

• Daniel Cipriano repeated as the GNAC Player of the Week and was selected as the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week after he batted .545, going 6 for 11 with eight runs, 10 RBI, a double and three home runs with a 1.455 slugging percentage. Cipriano opened by going 2 for 4 with a second-inning grand slam and a two-run double in Saturday’s 21-11 rout and then went 2 for 3 with three runs, a two-run homer and a solo homer in Saturday’s 11-8 nightcap. Cipriano leads the GNAC with five home runs, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored.

• Sam Powers batted .600 in the series, going 6 for 10 with a double, two walks, two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored. Powers did most of his damage in the 21-11 win as he went 5 for 6 with three RBI and four runs scored. He homered twice in the Jackets’ eight-run fourth inning.

• Chris Arpan batted .500 in what was a slugfest of a weekend for the Jackets. Arpan went 5 for 10 with eight RBI, five runs scored, two doubles and three home runs. He went 3 for 5 with a two-RBI double and a two-RBI homer in the 21-11 rout.

• Dylan Barkley picked up the win in Sunday’s 10-3 victory. He pitched seven strong innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while walking one and striking out seven. He is tied for the conference lead in strikeouts with 19.

• The Yellowjackets are ranked No. 4 in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings and are among others receiving votes in the NCBWA National Rankings.

• Montana State Billings will be tested right away as conference play starts this week. The Yellowjackets will head down to Monmouth to play a four-game series at Western Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 1-3 against nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa last week. The Nighthawks avoided the sweep with a 10-2 win in the finale on Saturday.

• John Gonzalez led the Nighthawks with a .455 batting average as he went 5 for 11 with five walks and five runs scored. Gonzalez went 1 for 3 with two walks and two runs scored in the 10-2 win. He leads the GNAC and ranks 19th in Division II with 1.38 walks per game.

• Ryan Dearing went 5 for 16 on the week with two walks and two runs scored. He went 2 for 4 with a walk in Saturday’s win, scoring on a throwing error in the Nighthawks’ nine-run fourth inning.

• Kyle Ethridge picked up the win in the 10-2 rout on Saturday. He pitched six innings, allowing five hits and no runs while walking our and striking out four. Ethridge is 2-0 with a 0.00 earned run average on the season.

• The Nighthawks will open conference play with a four-game series at Central Washington on Friday and Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s won three out of four games at Academy of Art last week, stealing the opener in 11 innings on Friday, 8-7, before winning Saturday’s second game, 7-3. The Saints then ran away with a 7-1 victory on Sunday.

• Aaron Renaud led the Saints at the plate again, batting 6 for 13 with a double and three RBI. Renaud went 4 for 5 with an RBI double in the extra-inning win. He ranks third in the GNAC with a .462 batting average, fourth with a .548 on-base percentage and seventh with a .577 slugging percentage.

• Isaac Hegamin batted .412 in the series, going 7 for 17 with a walk, three RBI and seven runs scored. Hegamin went 3 for 4 with three RBI and a run in Saturday’s 7-3 win and then went 2 for 4 with three runs in the 7-1 series finale.

• Justice Yamashita earned the win on Sunday, allowing four hits and one earned run while walking two and striking out two in five innings pitched.

• The Saints are among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• The Saints will open conference play at Concordia on Saturday and Sunday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon did not play last week.    

• The Wolves opened their season with a split at Fresno Pacific, dropping the first two games before bouncing back to steal the third and fourth games.

• Connor McCord leads the GNAC with a .571 batting average, a 1.071 slugging percentage and a .588 on-base percentage. He went 8 for 14 with five doubles, two walks, three RBI and three runs scored at Fresno Pacific.

• Alan Vasquez is fourth in the conference with a 1.80 earned run average. In his first start of the season, Vasquez allowed three hits and one run while walking one and striking out 11 in five innings.

• The Wolves are among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• The Wolves will open conference play at home, starting a four-game series with defending GNAC champion Montana State Billings on Saturday.