Friday, March 1, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – After the first few weeks of non-conference play, the first pitch of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball slate has finally arrived.

Northwest Nazarene (10-2-1) and Western Oregon (5-7) will open the conference slate with a rematch of last year’s GNAC Championships Final as the two teams who led conference preseason voting will go head-to-head in Nampa beginning on Friday. The Nighthawks come into the week at No. 10 in the NCBWA national rankings and will be looking to keep their strong momentum rolling after defeating then No. 12 Colorado Mesa last week. The Wolves, meanwhile, will be looking to take critical road wins as they begin their title defense.

Central Washington (5-9) hosts Saint Martin’s (5-11) for the first half of a four-game series starting on Saturday. The Wildcats were tied for No. 3 in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll while the Saints checked in at No. 5. Friday’s series-opener will be the first home game for Central Washington this season as both teams come into the contest looking to break modest two-game skids.

Montana State Billings (4-10) will be the lone team in non-conference action this week as it makes the trip to Pueblo, Colo., to face CSU Pueblo in a four-game series. The Yellowjackets split their series 2-2 with MSU Denver last time out, including a 25-13 victory in the series opener that marks the highest run total for a team this season. This week’s series was originally scheduled to take place in Billings before being relocated to Colorado due to inclement weather. The ‘Jackets will now have to wait until Friday, March 15 for their first home game of the year.

Curran Mitzel, Western Oregon

A senior two-way player from Hillsboro, Ore., Mitzel figures to be a key player for the Wolves both at the plate and on the mound this season. Offensively, Mitzel is hitting .347 to start the year, ranking third on the team and 10th in the GNAC and is slugging .612 to lead WOU and rank fourth in the conference. His 13 RBIs are tied for third in the league heading into the first week of conference play. Mitzel’s top offensive performance of the season came just last Sunday against Oregon Tech as he went 4-for-5  and racked up six RBIs and two runs scored to help lead the Wolves to a 14-2 victory.

Daniel Charron, Central Washington

A junior right-hander from Pasco, Wash., Charron has thrown 13.1 innings for the Wildcats this season and could establish himself as a key part of the CWU rotation this season. While he carries a 6.08 ERA, Charron has also racked up 10 strikeouts across his three appearances on the mound this year and has held opponents to a .333 batting average. He is one of just four pitchers to throw a complete game this season, going the distance in the Wildcats’ narrow 4-3 loss at George Fox last Saturday. He threw 89 pitched in the six-inning effort while averaging a strikeout per inning.

Through games on Feb. 29.

Player of the Week - Kaden Kirshenbaum, Montana State Billings

Second-career player of the week – first this season.

Kirshenbaum was the conference’s top hitter last week, leading the league in home runs (4), hits (10), runs scored (9), and all three slash categories at .625/.650/1.563. Kirshenbaum bookended the Yellowjackets’ four-game series at MSU Denver with two-homer games, and finished the week with seven RBIs and three doubles. The junior struck out just twice in 20 plate appearances, helping his team split the road series.

Also Nominated: Austin Ohland, CWU; Kaleb Karpstein, NNU; Hunter Sasaki, SMU; Curran Mitzel, WOU.

Pitcher of the Week - Arturo Alvarez, Western Oregon

Third-career player of the week – first this season.

Alvarez pitched the Wolves to victory over Oregon Tech, tossing a seven-inning complete game to earn his first victory of the year. Alvarez allowed just one earned run in the 100-pitch effort, scattering five hits and striking out three batters. The first complete game of Alvarez’s career was the fourth by a GNAC pitcher this season.

Also Nominated: Daniel Charron, CWU; Sage Wayment, MSUB; Wade Duncan, NNU; Colin Driscoll, SMU.