Thursday, April 12, 2018

UNFAVORABLE WEATHER FORECAST SHIFTS SERIES’: With weather expected to get the best of Lacey and Billings, Saint Martin’s and Montana State Billings have been forced to move their games this weekend. The Saints, originally scheduled to host Central Washington, will now head up to Ellensburg to complete the four-game set on Saturday and Sunday. Montana State Billings, meanwhile, will have to wait at least another week to play its first home series of the year as an extended winter season continues to hinder playing conditions at Dehler Park. The Yellowjackets will now head down to Nampa, Idaho, to complete their four-game series against Northwest Nazarene.

CONCORDIA TAKES CONTROL OF FOURTH PLACE: What a weekend it was for Concordia as it took three of four against Central Washington at Porter Park to take control of fourth place. With the series being pushed back a day due to expected poor weather conditions on Saturday, the doubleheaders were played on Sunday and Monday.

The Cavaliers dropped the series opener on Sunday, 7-0, but took a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. On Monday, Concordia swept the twinbill with 16-3 and 5-2 wins.

Concordia sits at 12-12 and is two games ahead of Northwest Nazarene. All games are must-win heading into the home stretch of the conference schedule as just three games separate third-place Central Washington from fifth-place Northwest Nazarene. 

SAINTS SWEEP WEEKLY HONORS: Not only did Saint Martin’s earn its first GNAC Baseball Player of the Week honor, it earned two. Freshman Ryne Oshiro and sophomore Tanner Inouye were named the GNAC Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week after playing big roles in the Saints’ series split with Northwest Nazarene last weekend.

Oshiro finished with a .625 batting average, going 10 for 16 with six runs, six RBIs and three home runs. He had the winning home run in the Saints’ 5-4, extra-inning win in Thursday’s opener and added a three-run homer in the nightcap. Oshiro opened Friday’s twinbill by going 3 for 4 in game one, which included his third homer of the series and went 2 for 4 in the second game. Oshiro leads the Saints at the plate with a .316 batting average and is the team’s joint-leader with 36 hits. The freshman is also one of two Saints with a slugging percentage better than .447.

Inouye went the distance in Friday’s 5-2 win. He allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and five walks while striking out seven. It was Inouye’s first college career shutout, matched his season-high in strikeouts and improved him to 2-2 on the season. He is now fourth on the team with 22 strikeouts and boasts a team-low 3.63 earned run average.

Saint Martin’s looks to build upon its recent split as it visits third-place Central Washington this weekend for a four-game series in Ellensburg.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Player
Ryne Oshiro, Saint Martin’s
IF • 6-0 • Fr. • Aiea, Hawaii

Oshiro finished with a .625 batting average in the Saints’s four-game split with Northwest Nazarene, going 10 for 16 with six runs, six RBIs and three home runs. He had the winning home run in the Saints’ 5-4, extra-inning win in Thursday’s opener and added a three-run homer in the nightcap. Oshiro opened Friday’s twinbill by going 3 for 4 in game one, which included his third homer of the series and went 2 for 4 in the second game.

Also Nominated: Andrew Barrera (Concordia).

Pitcher
Tanner Inouye, Saint Martin’s
P • 6-0 • So. • Honolulu, Hawaii

Inouye went the distance in Friday’s 5-2 win at Northwest Nazarene. He allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and five walks while striking out seven. It was Inouye’s first college career shutout, matched his season-high in strikeouts and improved him to 2-2 on the season.

Also Nominated: Kaleb Jones (Concordia).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington dropped its second consecutive series after losing three of four against Concordia at Porter Park last weekend. The Wildcats took the series opener on Sunday, 7-0, before falling in the nightcap 3-2. Central Washington dropped Monday’s doubleheader 16-3 and 5-2.

• The Wildcats struggled on both sides of the ball as they were limited to a .254 batting average over the four games and gave up 24 runs on 33 Cavaliers’ hits.

• Sophomore Jaden Hassell led the CWU offense by batting .417 over the four games. Hassell went 2 for 4 in the series opener and recorded a pair of RBIs. The sophomore continued his solid weekend in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader by going 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Hassell is now batting .300 for the season and has a .958 fielding percentage in 26 starts.

• Senior James Smith III collected five hits over the weekend and a pair of RBIs. His best game at the plate came in CWU’s 7-0 win as he went 4 for 5 with two runs scored. Smith III then knocked in an RBI in both games. The senior continues to lead the GNAC with a .391 batting average, 52 hits, 35 runs scored, 16 doubles and 82 total bases.

• Junior Connor Stevenson picked up his fifth win of the season in the series opener after allowing no runs on three hits in eight innings of work. Stevenson is second in the conference with a 2.90 earned run average and 43 strikeouts. He also leads the GNAC with 59.0 innings pitched.

• The Wildcats remain second in the league with a .301 batting average and are tied with Montana State Billings at 64 doubles. Central Washington has also compiled a league-high 333 hits to go along with 16 home runs.

• Originally scheduled to visit SMU this weekend, Central Washington will now host Saint Martin’s for a four-game series due to heavy forecasted rain in Lacey.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia captured its second straight series victory after taking three of four against Central Washington last weekend. The Cavaliers dropped the series opener on Sunday, 7-0, but took a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. On Monday, Concordia swept the twinbill with 16-3 and 5-2 wins.

• Aside from the series opener, Concordia’s pitching was superb as it allowed just seven runs in the final three games. The Cavs’ bats came alive in game three as they clubbed 17 hits.

• Senior Andrew Barrera and senior Cole Crosby led the Cavaliers’ offense as each batted .500 with three RBIs. Barrera also scored four runs and collected three doubles and a triple. He opened Concordia’s scoring in the 3-2 win with an RBI-triple in the first inning. He later scored on a Dominic Embody groundout for a 2-0 lead. Barrera leads Concordia with a .352 batting average and has 15 RBIs.

• Crosby compiled five hits and recorded at least one in every contest. He finished the series with three runs batted in and three walks. Crosby is second on the team with a .330 batting average and has recorded 30 hits this season.

• Junior Kaleb Jones went the distance in Sunday’s 3-2 win as he allowed two runs on seven hits and a strikeout. The win gives Jones his team-leading third of the season and lowers his ERA to 4.71.

• Concordia is hitting .261 this year and has recorded 278 hits and 55 doubles. The Cavs improve to second in the GNAC with a 5.33 earned run average. They are also third in the conference with a .956 fielding percentage.

• The Cavaliers embark on an eight-game road trip that begins at Western Oregon this weekend in Monmouth.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings did not play its four scheduled games against Western Oregon last week.

• Junior Jalen Garcia leads the team with a .374 batting average and is among conference leaders in runs scored (34), runs batted in (30), doubles (11), triples (3), total bases (75) and stolen bases (17).

• Senior Kade Hall, last week’s NCBWA Division II West Region Player of the Week, is second on the team with a .362 batting average and 29 RBIs. Hall is also among the Division II leaders with four sacrifice flies this season.

• Junior Steen Fredrickson leads the GNAC with five wins this season and is fourth in the league with a 3.60 ERA. The junior also leads the league with 49 strikeouts.

• Montana State Billings leads the GNAC with a .307 batting average and is among the Division II leaders with 8.10 runs per game. In the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings, the Yellowjackets are ranked No. 6.

• Originally scheduled to host Northwest Nazarene this weekend, the series will now be held in Nampa, Idaho at Vail Baseball Field due to poor weather conditions in Billings. The Yellowjackets will play as the home team in all four games and bat second.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene picked up a split against Saint Martin’s over the weekend. The Nighthawks opened the series on Thursday with a 5-4 loss before rebounding for a 10-4 win in the nightcap. In Friday’s doubleheader, the Nighthawks fell in the opener 5-2 but managed to salvage the split with a 5-3 victory in the series finale.

• The Nighthawks’ offense was firing on all cylinders as it led the GNAC with a .311 batting average last week. Northwest Nazarene collected 38 hits for 21 runs and notched a league-high eight doubles.

• Pacing NNU’s offense was sophomore Parker Price, who hit .583 in the four games. Price opened the series by going 3 for 4 with three runs scored in the Nighthawks’ 5-4 loss. He finished the weekend by going 1 for 2 in the series finale and tallied a two-RBI single in the second inning of NNU’s 5-3 win. Price is second in the GNAC with a .380 batting average and is tied for second with 11 doubles.

• Freshman Justin Folz and senior Casey Sheehan each hit .429 over the four games. Folz tallied three runs while Sheehan recorded four RBIs to improve his season total to 26. Sheehan collected all four RBIs on Thursday with two hits in each contest.

• Picking up his third win of the season, junior Cooper Webster went 6.2 innings in the series finale to give the Nighthawks the split. Webster allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out six batters. Webster lowered his season ERA to 4.71 and is third on the team with 30 strikeouts.

• The Nighthawks are third in the GNAC batting .283 and are second in the GNAC with 28 home runs. Northwest Nazarene is also second in the GNAC with a .958 fielding percentage.

• Originally scheduled to visit Montana State Billings this weekend, the series will now be held in Nampa, Idaho at Vail Baseball Field due to poor weather conditions in Billings. The Nighthawks will play as the away team in all four games and bat first.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s earned a split last weekend against Northwest Nazarene. The Saints opened the series on Thursday with a 5-4 win but fell in the nightcap 10-4. Saint Martin’s picked up a 5-2 win in Friday’s opener before falling in the series finale 5-3.

• The Saints hit .244 in the series and gave up 21 runs for a 5.23 earned run average. They took the series opener in dramatic fashion, scoring the game-winning run in the top of the 10th inning for a 5-4 victory.

• Freshman Ryne Oshiro was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week finished with a .625 batting average, going 10 for 16 with six runs, six RBIs and three home runs. He had the winning home run in the Saints’ 5-4, extra-inning win in Thursday’s opener and added a three-run homer in the nightcap. Oshiro opened Friday’s twinbill by going 3 for 4 in game one, which included his third homer of the series and went 2 for 4 in the second game. Oshiro continues to lead the team with a .316 batting average and is one of three Saints to start all 32 games this year.

• Junior Austin Feist was second on the Saints with five hits in the series for a .333 average. Went a perfect 3 for 3 in Friday’s opener, which was capped with a solo home run in the sixth inning for his second RBI of the game. In the series finale, Feist recorded one hit, an RBI single in the first inning. Feist is second on the team with a .298 batting average and has yet to commit an error this season.

• Sophomore Tanner Inouye was named the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he went the distance in Friday’s 5-2 win at Northwest Nazarene. He allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and five walks while striking out seven. It was Inouye’s first college career shutout, matched his season-high in strikeouts and improved him to 2-2 on the season.

• As a team, Saint Martin’s is hitting .235 this season and has drawn the third-most walks with 122.

• Orginally scheduled to host Central Washington, a heavy forecast of rain in the Lacey area will see Saint Martin’s take a four-game road trip to Ellensburg this weekend.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon did not play its four scheduled games against Montana State Billings last week.

• Senior Jay Leverett is ninth in the GNAC with a .337 batting average has recorded 28 hits this season.

• Senior Cody Dykstra is second on the team with a .329 batting average. Dykstra has accounted for 15 RBIs and 23 hits.

• Sophomore Alex Roth has been one of the GNAC’s best pitchers this season as he leads the league with a 1.57 earned run average. He has allowed just six runs all season and has struck out 39 batters.

• Western Oregon is fourth in the GNAC with a .272 batting average. Fielding has been a strength this season as the Wolves lead the GNAC with a .971 fielding percentage. The pitching staff also paces the conference with a 3.85 earned run average.

• The Wolves host Concordia this weekend in Monmouth. In its previous series against the Cavs this season, Western Oregon took three out of four games at Porter Park.