Wednesday, March 24, 2021

THE YELLOWJACKETS ARE HEATING UP: Montana State Billings snapped a 12-game losing streak to open the season last week with an 18-7 win at home over Saint Martin’s. The Yellowjackets proceeded to take a 3-1 series win over the Saints, scoring 44 runs and hitting 11 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs in the process.

Montana State Billings hit four or more home runs in three of the four games against Saint Martin’s while collecting 10 or more hits in all four games.

Senior first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Cipriano was named the GNAC Player of the Week and the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week for the second time this season after he had another offensive outburst for the Yellowjackets. Cipriano batted .400 in the series with seven runs, nine RBI a double and four home runs, three of which came in the home opener on Friday.

On the mound, junior Connor Redmond picked up his first win in a Yellowjacket uniform in Friday’s 18-7 victory. He tossed six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out nine.

Montana State Billings leads Division II with 41 home runs. Cipriano is also the Division II leader in homers with 11. The Yellowjackets will hit the road again this week, playing at Western Oregon on Friday and Saturday.

GNAC BASEBALL IN THE RANKINGS: Northwest Nazarene continues to prove that it is the real deal.

The Nighthawks are ranked No. 15 in the latest NCBWA Division II National Rankings and No. 28 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Nighthawks are also ranked No. 2 behind Azusa Pacific in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings with 54 points.

All five GNAC teams are in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings. Western Oregon is tied for No. 5 with Point Loma, Central Washington is ranked No. 9 and Saint Martin’s is tied for the No. 10 spot with Holy Names.

Montana State Billings is among those receiving votes in the NCBWA West Region Rankings with one point.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Daniel Cipriano, Montana State Billings
1B/DH • 6-3 • Sr. • Agoura Hills, Calif.

Cipriano had another big offensive week, batting .400 with a 1.267 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage as Montana State Billings won three of four games at home against Saint Martin’s. He opened the series by going 3 for 4 in Friday’s 18-7 win, which included a pair of two-run home runs and a three-run bomb. He also hit a solo homer in the Sunday finale.

Also Nominated: Zach Berryman (Central Washington), Grant Kerry (Northwest Nazarene), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s).

PITCHER
Spencer Schwehr, Northwest Nazarene
LHP • 6-0 • So. • Boise, Idaho

Schwehr picked up his second win of the season in a 3-1 victory over Central Washington on Saturday. He allowed six hits and kept the Wildcats scoreless in his 5.1 innings of work. Schwehr finished with three strikeouts and allowed just one extra-base hit.

Also Nominated: Dylan Weese (Central Washington), Connor Redmond (Montana State Billings), Tanner Inouye (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 1-3 at Northwest Nazarene last week, taking the opener on Friday, 4-2. The Wildcats lost the next three games by scores of 7-2, 7-3 and 3-1.

• Senior Dillon Larsen earned the win in the 4-2 win on Friday. He allowed two earned runs on three hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts in five innings. He leads the GNAC and is 10th in Division II with 17.12 strikeouts per nine innings. Sophomore Dylan Weese picked up the save, tossing four innings of shutout baseball with one walk and five strikeouts.

• Freshman outfielder Zach Berryman led the Wildcats in the series with a .500 batting average. He went 8 for 16 with two runs and a walk. He went 2 for 4 in the opener and the finale and also went 3 for 5 with two runs and a stolen base in the third game.

• Freshman catcher Austin Ohland contributed to the lone win of the week as he went 2 for 2 with two runs, two walks and a solo home run in the seventh inning.

• Central Washington is ranked No. 9 in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Central Washington is 5-7 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Wildcats will enjoy a bye week and then will return to action on April 2 and 3 as they host Montana State Billings.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings picked up its first three wins of the season last week, taking three of four games from Saint Martin’s at home on Friday and Sunday. The Yellowjackets split the Friday doubleheader, winning the opener, 18-7, and losing the second game, 7-6. The Jackets won both games of the Sunday twinbill, 11-4 and 9-6.

• Senior first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Cipriano was named the GNAC Player of the Week and the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week after another big week at the plate. He batted .400 with a .526 on-base percentage and a 1.267 slugging percentage. Cipriano collected six hits, seven runs, nine RBI, a double and four home runs. His week was highlighted by a 3 for 4 performance with four runs, seven RBI and three homers in Friday’s 18-7 win. He also had a solo homer and an RBI single in the finale.

• Cipriano leads the GNAC and Division II with 11 home runs. He also leads the conference with 30 RBI and a 1.068 slugging percentage. Cipriano’s 36 career home runs is second on the GNAC All-Time List. The record is 43, held by Chandler Tracy (2012-15) of Saint Martin’s.

• Senior outfielder Sam Powers went 6 for 12 in the series with four runs, five RBI and a solo home run. Senior first baseman Tanner Cantwell batted .417 with a .611 on-base percentage and a 1.167 slugging percentage. He finished with six runs, four RBI, two walks, a double, a triple and two homers.

• Junior Connor Redmond earned his first win as a Yellowjacket in Friday’s 18-7 victory. He pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.

• Montana State Billings is among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Montana State Billings is 3-13 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Yellowjackets will hit the road this week, playing at Western Oregon on Friday and Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene took three of four conference games at home against Central Washington last week. The Nighthawks dropped Friday’s opener, 4-2. They bounced back to win the next three by scores of 7-2, 7-3 and 3-1.

• Sophomore Spencer Schwehr was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after he earned the win in Saturday’s 3-1 win. In 5.1 innings of work, he held the Wildcats scoreless, allowing six hits and striking out three.

• Senior outfielder Ryan Dearing led the Nighthawks at the plate with a .467 batting average to go with a .529 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage. Dearing had two or more hits in three of the four games, finishing the weekend with seven hits, three runs, a double and a triple. He leads the conference with 29 hits and 27 runs.

• Senior utility player Ben Johnson went 6 for 14 at the plate with a run and three RBI in the series. Johnson also earned the win on the mound in Saturday’s 7-3 win. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

• Northwest Nazarene continues to capture the attention of the Division II baseball community. The Nighthawks are ranked No. 15 in the NCBWA National Rankings for the second straight week while also coming in at No. 28 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll. The Nighthawks also earned the No. 2 spot in the NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• Northwest Nazarene is 13-3 overall and is off to a solid 7-1 start to conference play. The Nighthawks will head to Lacey, Washington, to play at Saint Martin’s on Friday and Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s won one of four games at Montana State Billings last week. The Saints took an 18-7 loss in Friday’s opener before coming back to take the second game, 7-6. The Saints loss both games on Sunday, 11-4 and 9-6.

• Senior Tanner Inouye earned the pitching win on Friday. He allowed one earned run on six hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Inouye is fifth in the GNAC with a 4.72 earned run average.

• Freshman outfielder Griffin Williams batted .500 in the series, going 5 for 10 with an RBI, a walk and two doubles. Williams went 3 for 3 with an RBI single in the Saints’ lone win of the weekend.

• Sophomore first baseman Aaron Renaud went 5 for 12 in the four games with three runs, four RBI, two doubles, two home runs and four walks. He closed the week by going 2 for 3 with a solo homer in the first inning and an RBI single in the fifth in Sunday’s 9-6 loss.

• Saint Martin’s is tied for No. 10 with Holy Names in the latest NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• Saint Martin’s is 4-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Saints will stay home this week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Friday and Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon did not play last week. The Wolves last took the field on Mar. 13 and 14, splitting a four-game series at Central Washington to open conference play.

• Western Oregon leads the GNAC with a .328 team batting average, which ranks 24th in Division II. The Wolves also rank 38th nationally with a .416 on-base percentage.

• Junior infielder Derek Maiben leads the conference and is 34th in Division II with 1.83 hits per game. He also ranks 44th with a .478 batting average. Twin brother and junior outfielder Jacob Maiben leads the conference with a .615 on-base percentage.

• Sophomore pitcher Matthew Dunaway ranks No. 15 in Division II with a 11.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 48th with 1.29 walks allowed per nine innings.

• The Wolves are tied for No. 5 with Point Loma in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Western Oregon is 3-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Wolves will resume conference play on Friday and Saturday as they host Montana State Billings.