Thursday, February 13, 2020

AND WE’RE OFF: The 2020 GNAC baseball season hit the ground running last week as Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin’s opened their seasons. Central Washington was also in action last week as the Wildcats split a four-game series at Academy of Art.

Central Washington’s Justin Hampson was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after he led the Wildcats with a .500 batting average. His week included a pair of three-hit efforts in Saturday’s games. Hampson leads the conference with 12 hits and a .462 batting average.

Northwest Nazarene’s Kyle Ethridge was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after he picked up the win in the Nighthawks’ 6-0 shutout of Cal State LA on Saturday. Ethridge pitched a six-inning gem, allowing two hits and a walk. He ranks third in the conference with a .100 opposing batting average.

Saint Martin’s Aaron Renaud led the Saints as he batted 6 for 13 with two doubles, four walks, two runs scored and two RBI as the Saints split at Holy Names last week.

Montana State Billings did not play last week while Concordia played a three-game exhibition series at home against British Columbia, winning one of three games.

Western Oregon was scheduled to open its season at Lewis-Clark State last week but the four-game series with the Warriors was canceled due to weather. The Wolves will open their season on Thursday as they start a four-game series at Fresno Pacific.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Two of the conference’s top players landed on the 2020 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Preseason All-West Region and All-America Teams.

Montana State Billings senior first baseman Daniel Cipriano leads the GNAC’s two selections and was one of five players to earn unanimous selection to the All-West Region Team. He was also selected as a Second Team Preseason All-American.

Cipriano is joined by Western Oregon senior utility player Connor McCord, who saw action on the mound and at first base in 2019. In addition to the regional honors, McCord was named an honorable mention preseason All-American.

Montana State Billings is among others receiving votes in the Preseason NCBWA Division II National Rankings. The Yellowjackets are also ranked No. 5 in the Preseason NCBWA West Region Rankings while Western Oregon came in at No. 8.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Justin Hampson, Central Washington
OF • 6-2 • Sr. • Mill Creek, Wash.

Hampson batted .500 as the Wildcats split a four-game series at Academy of Art, going 8 for 16 with four runs, two RBI and a double while also drawing three walks. In Friday’s 5-4 second-game win, Hampson went 2 for 3 and scored what proved to be the winning run in the eighth inning. On Saturday, he went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI single in the 7-4 first-game win and closed by going 3 for 4 with a double and another RBI single in the 17-16 slugfest loss.

Also Nominated: Quentin Ayers (Northwest Nazarene), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s).

PITCHER
Kyle Ethridge, Northwest Nazarene
LHP • 6-0 • Fr. • Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Ethridge pitched the Nighthawks to a 6-0 shutout win at Cal State LA on Saturday. In six innings, he allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out one on 81 pitches as NNU limited the Golden Eagles to four hits.

Also Nominated: Tyler Houfer (Central Washington), Harrison Goebel (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington split its four-game series at Academy of Art last week, winning Friday’s second game, 5-4, before beating the Urban Knights again on Saturday, 7-4.

• The Wildcats sparked a 12-run third inning on Sunday but the Urban Knights scored five runs in the ninth inning to walk it off and escape with the 17-16 victory.

• Justin Hampson was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after he batted .500 in the series. His week included a pair of three-hit efforts in Saturday’s games. Hampson leads the conference with 12 hits and a .462 batting average while also ranking second with five runs scored and a .576 on-base percentage.

• Trevor Tripoli led the GNAC with six RBI last week to go with three runs, a walk and a .455 batting average. He went 2 for 4 with a run and three RBI in Sunday’s 17-16 slugfest. His six RBI lead the GNAC and he also ranks tied for third in the conference with four runs scored.

• JJ Asinas picked up the win in Friday’s second game. Asinas pitched four innings in relief and posted a 2.25 earned run average, allowing three hits and one earned run while walking two and striking out four.

• The Wildcats will head down to Salem, Oregon to start a three-game series at Corban on Friday.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia won one of three exhibition games at home against British Columbia last week. The Cavaliers lost both games on Saturday, 8-3 and 4-3, then bounced back to win Sunday’s game, 7-4.

• Kaleb Strawn and Max Ramirez took care of business on the mound to lead the Cavs to Sunday’s victory. Strawn pitched six innings, giving up two hits and four runs, three earned, while walking two and striking out six. Ramirez finished the game by throwing three innings and allowing no hits or runs while striking out three.

• Damon Peters batted 1 for 3 with two RBI in Sunday’s win. He also batted 2 for 5 in Saturday’s first game and followed by going 1 for 3 with two walks in Saturday’s second game.

• The Cavs will be back in action this week, hosting Lewis-Clark State in a three-game series starting on Friday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings did not play last week.

• The Yellowjackets opened their 2020 season by winning two of three games at Point Loma on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

• The Yellowjackets lead the GNAC with a 3.86 earned run average, a .990 fielding percentage and a .414 slugging percentage.

• Tanner Cantwell ranks fifth in the conference with a .364 batting average while also ranking tied for third with a .636 slugging percentage and 10th with a .417 on-base percentage.

• The Yellowjackets were among others receiving votes in the NCBWA Preseason National Rankings. They are also ranked No. 5 in the NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• The Yellowjackets will travel to Pueblo, Colorado on Friday to play a four-game split series against CSU-Pueblo and Sioux Falls.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 1-3 in a split series with Dixie State and Cal State LA in Los Angeles last week. The Nighthawks lost 10-4 to the Trailblazer in Friday’s first game then lost again to Dixie in Saturday’s first game, 13-4. The Nighthawks lost 8-2 to Cal State LA in Friday’s second game but bounced back to shut out the Golden Eagles in Saturday’s finale, 6-0.

• Kyle Ethridge was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week earned the win in the 6-0 shutout of the Golden Eagles. Ethridge pitched six innings and allowed two hits and a walk. He ranks third in the conference with a .100 opposing batting average.

• Quentin Ayers led the Nighthawks at the plate with a .429 batting average. He batted 6 for 14 with a double and a home run while also racking up four RBI, three runs scored and two walks. Ayers went 3 for 4 with two RBI in the first meeting with the Golden Eagles.

• Ryan Dearing batted .357 with five hits, five walks and a run scored last week. He went 1 for 2 with three walks and a run scored in Saturday’s win over the Golden Eagles.

• Up next, the Nighthawks will take to the road to start a four-game series at Colorado Mesa on Feb. 20.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s split its four-game series at Holy Names last week. The Saints dropped the first two games, 9-1 and 8-7, but bounced back to win the next two, 5-3 and 8-7.

• Aaron Renaud led the Saints as he went 6 for 13 with two doubles, four walks, two runs and two RBI. He leads the GNAC with a .462 batting average and a .611 on-base percentage.

• Elijah Santiago batted 4 for 11 with a double, two runs and an RBI on the week. His .364 batting average ranks tied for fifth in the conference. In Saturday’s second game, Santiago batted 2 for 3 with a run. He then finished the week by batting  2 for 5 with a run and an RBI in Sunday’s game.

• Harrison Goebel picked up his first win of the season in Saturday’s second game. Goebel pitched 5.1 strong innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run while walking four and striking out seven. His 1.69 earned run average ranks fourth in the GNAC.

• Up next, the Saints will head back to California to start a four-game series at Academy of Art on Feb. 21.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon had its series at Lewis-Clark State canceled due to weather last week. The Wolves open their season on Thursday, starting a four-game series at Fresno Pacific.

• The Wolves closed out the 2019 season with a 30-13 overall record and finished in second place with a 26-11 conference mark.

• The Wolves were picked second with 31 points and one first-place vote in the 2020 GNAC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. The Wolves were edged out in the poll by Montana State Billings (33 points, four first-place votes).

• The Wolves are ranked No. 8 in the NCBWA Preseason West Region Rankings.