Wednesday, March 3, 2021

NIGHTHAWKS SLUG WAY TO 3-1 ROAD TRIP: Northwest Nazarene went 3-1 on its road trip in Grand Junction, Colorado, picking up a pair of wins over New Mexico Highlands and a convincing rout of No. 2/5 Colorado Mesa.

Northwest Nazarene batted .380 as a team in the four games with 57 hits, 47 runs, 46 RBI, 15 walks, 13 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. The Nighthawks lead the conference with 100 hits, 80 runs, 74 RBI, 20 doubles and 11 home runs.

Senior outfielder Ryan Dearing batted .692 from the leadoff spot in the four games, going 9 for 13 with nine runs, one RBI, a double, a triple and five walks. Dearing went 4 for 5 with an RBI and four runs in Thursday’s 18-6 win over Colorado Mesa.

Senior first baseman John Gonzalez went 6 for 18 on the road trip with five runs, 13 RBI, a double, a walk and five home runs. He went off in Thursday’s win over the Mavericks with a pair of three-run bombs. Gonzalez also impressed in Friday’s 18-4 rout of New Mexico Highlands, going 3 for 6 with a double and two homers.

Senior third baseman Shawn Grandmont also contributed to the slugfest, batting .471 in the four games with eight hits, seven runs, 11 RBI, a double, two triples and two home runs.

The Nighthawks lead the conference and rank 11th in Division II with 10 runs per game while also ranking 13th nationally with 100 hits and 16th with 11 home runs.

BACK ON THE DIAMOND: Four of the GNAC’s five baseball teams have opened their 2021 seasons after the 2020 season was halted. Western Oregon, the last team to open its season, is set to take the field on Thursday as the Wolves host Saint Martin’s in Monmouth.

REPRESENTATION IN THE RANKINGS: All five GNAC teams made an appearance in the first NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

Montana State Billings opens the season at No. 4 in the West Region. Northwest Nazarene opens at No. 6 while Western Oregon tabs the No. 8 spot.

Central Washington and Saint Martin’s are among others receiving votes in the regional rankings with two points each.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Will Riley, Montana State Billings
IF/OF • 6-1 • Jr. • Lismore, Australia

Riley batted .500 in the Yellowjackets’ four-game season-opening road trip in Colorado against Colorado Mesa and New Mexico Highlands. Riley went 9 for 18 with five runs, seven RBI, two doubles, a triple and two home runs. He opened with a 2 for 5 performance on Thursday against NMHU with a double and a solo home run. In the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, he went 4 for 5 with two runs, three RBI, a double and a homer. He also went 2 for 4 against NMHU on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Tyler McClain (Central Washington), John Gonzalez (Northwest Nazarene), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s).

PITCHER
Kyle Ethridge, Northwest Nazarene
LHP • 6-0 • Fr. • Alta Loma, Calif.

Ethridge earned the win in the Nighthawks’ 18-6 victory over No. 2/5 Colorado Mesa on Thursday. In 6.2 innings, Ethridge allowed one run on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Of his 88 pitches, 59 were for strikes.

Also Nominated: Brayde Hirai (Central Washington), Justice Yamashita (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington split both doubleheaders with Saint Martin’s last week. The Wildcats won Friday’s first game in Lacey, 10-8, before dropping the second game, 6-4. In Ellensburg on Saturday, CWU won game one, 4-3, before losing game two, 13-11.

• Sophomore outfielder Tyler McClain went 6 for 10 in three games against the Saints, including the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the 10-8 season opener. McClain scored three runs and finished with four RBI, all coming in game one. McClain is tied for the conference lead with teammate Zach Berryman with a .600 batting average.

• A freshman utility player, Berryman went 6 for 10 with five runs, one RBI, a double, a triple and two walks. His week was highlighted by a 3 for 3 performance with two runs, a double, a walk and an RBI in the season opener.

• Sophomore pitcher Brayde Hirai threw 5.2 innings in game three of the series. He allowed just three hits and three earned runs while striking out four in a no decision. Hirai went 5.1 innings without allowing a hit.

• Central Washington is among those receiving votes in the NCBWA West Region Rankings with two points.

• Central Washington opened the season 2-2. Up next, the Wildcats will start conference play by hosting Western Oregon on March 13 and 14 in Ellensburg.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped all four games on its season-opening road trip in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Yellowjackets lost the season opener to New Mexico Highlands on Thursday, 7-5. The Yellowjackets lost both games of a doubleheader at Colorado Mesa on Friday, 15-11 and 17-5. In the finale on Saturday, MSUB lost a tough 16-15 game as New Mexico Highlands walked it off with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

• Junior infielder Will Riley earned the first GNAC Baseball Player of the Week award of the season after he batted .500 in the four games. Riley went 9 for 18 with five runs, seven RBI, two doubles, a triple and two home runs. His week was capped by a 4 for 5 performance with two runs, three RBI, a double and a homer in the 15-11 loss to Colorado Mesa on Friday. Riley is 24th in Division II with a .500 batting average and 11th with 2.25 hits per game.

• Senior outfielder Sam Powers went 5 for 13 on the week with three runs, four RBI, a triple and a home run. Powers went 3 for 5 with two runs, three RBI and a two-run blast in the sixth inning of the 16-15 finale loss.

• Even though he received the loss in the season opener, senior Sterling Lay had one of the stronger outings for MSUB pitchers last week. Lay pitched four innings of relief, allowing four hits and three runs, unearned.

• Montana State Billings opened the season ranked No. 4 in the first NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Montana State Billings is 0-4 to start the season. Up next, the Yellowjackets will head back to Colorado this weekend to play a four-game series at UC Colorado Springs.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 4-2 last week, splitting a doubleheader at College of Idaho on Feb. 22 before taking three of four games in Grand Junction, Colorado over the weekend.

• Northwest Nazarene lost 5-4 in 12 innings in game one of Monday’s twinbill at College of Idaho. The Nighthawks then bounced back to win game two, 16-4.

• The Nighthawks completed a 18-6 rout of No. 2/5 Colorado Mesa on Thursday but lost the road trip finale against the Mavericks, 5-0, on Saturday. On Saturday, NNU won both games of a doubleheader against New Mexico Highlands, 18-4 and 11-5.

• Freshman Kyle Ethridge was selected as the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he allowed one run on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 6.2 innings in Thursday’s 18-6 win over the nationally-ranked Mavericks. He threw 88 pitches, 59 for strikes.

• Senior first baseman John Gonzalez led NNU to the 3-1 Colorado road trip as he went 6 for 18 with five runs, 13 RBI, a walk, a double and five home runs. All six hits were extra base hits, with five leaving the park. In Thursday’s 18-6 win, he hit a pair of three-run homers. He also had two homers in the first game against New Mexico Highlands, going 3 for 6 with five RBI. His fifth home run came in game two against NMHU.

• Northwest Nazarene opened the season ranked No. 6 in the first NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Northwest Nazarene improved to 6-2 on the season. Up next, the Nighthawks will open conference play on March 12 and 13, hosting Montana State Billings in Nampa.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s split its four-game home-and-home series with Central Washington last weekend. The Saints lost game one on Friday in Lacey, 10-8 before bouncing back to win game two, 6-4. In Ellensburg on Saturday, the Saints dropped a tough 4-3 outing before winning a 13-11 shootout in the series finale.

• Sophomore infielder Aaron Renaud led the Saints at the plate in the split. Renaud played in three of the four games, batting .333 with three hits, four runs, three RBI, a walk and a pair of home runs. Both home runs came in each of the Saints’ losses.

• Sophomore outfielder Cody Chavis went .455 in the series with five hits, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base. Chavis’ best performance came in the Saints’ 6-4 win on Friday as he went 2 for 3 with a run and two RBI.

• Senior pitcher Tanner Inouye started in Friday’s 6-4 win and got the no decision. Inouye allowed four hits and four earned runs in five innings pitched while striking out eight. Inouye surpassed 170 career strikeouts to become Saint Martin’s all-time leader.

• Freshman Justice Yamashita started the series finale and picked up the win. Yamashita tossed four innings, allowing five hits and three runs, all unearned. He struck out four batters and didn’t allow a single walk.

• Saint Martin’s is among those receiving votes in the NCBWA West Region Rankings with two points.

• Saint Martin’s is 2-2 on the season. Up next, the Saints will head to Monmouth, Oregon to play at Western Oregon on Thursday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon has not yet played in 2021. The Wolves’ home series against Eastern Oregon last week was canceled.

• Western Oregon finished the shortened 2020 season 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

• Senior pitcher Logan Hatley held opposing batters to a .106 batting average in 2020. He finished ranked sixth in Division II with 3.46 hits allowed per game and 15th with a 0.69 earned run average.

• Senior first baseman/pitcher Connor McCord returns for another year after finishing 2020 with a 2.00 ERA and a conference-best .484 batting average, which ranked No. 6 in Division II.

• Western Oregon enters the season ranked No. 8 in the first NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Western Oregon is scheduled to open its season this week. The Wolves will host a doubleheader with Saint Martin’s on Thursday.