Thursday, February 27, 2020

DALLAS – Following his second straight selection as the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week, Montana State Billings senior Daniel Cipriano was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) West Region Player of the Week.

The Yellowjackets earned a three-game sweep of Colorado Mines in their first home series of the season, outscoring the Orediggers 42-22 and hitting 12 home runs in the process. Half of the Yellowjackets’ runs came in the 21-11 series opener as the two teams combined for nine homers in the game.

Cipriano led the Yellowjackets en route to the sweep as he batted .545, going 6 for 11 with eight runs, 10 RBI, three walks, a double and three home runs with a 1.455 slugging percentage.

Cipriano opened the week by going 2 for 4 with two walks, six RBI and three runs scored in the 21-11 slugfest. He opened the scoring with a second-inning grand slam to center field then followed with a two-RBI double in the sixth as the Yellowjackets scored 17 runs before the Orediggers got on the board.

In Saturday’s nightcap, Cipriano batted 2 for 3 with a walk, three RBI, three runs scored and a pair of homers as MSUB clinched a series win with an 11-8, seven-inning victory. That momentum rolled into the finale on Sunday as he went 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI single to lead the Jackets to a 10-3 victory.

Cipriano posts a .385 batting average and a .872 slugging percentage and leads the GNAC with 17 RBI, 13 runs scored and five home runs, which also ranks 16th in Division II. He also ranks second in the conference with 15 hits and four doubles.

One of five players to earn unanimous selection to the NCBWA Division II Preseason All-West Region Team, Cipriano went on to earn Second Team Preseason All-America honors. The reigning GNAC Player of the Year will look to replicate last year’s success that led the Yellowjackets to the GNAC regular-season and GNAC Championships titles.

Montana State Billings moved up one spot to No. 4 in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings and are among others receiving votes in the NCBWA National Rankings. The Yellowjackets will open conference play on the road this week as they head down to Monmouth to play a four-game series at Western Oregon.