Tuesday, March 21, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Player
Carson Green, Montana State Billings
OF• 5-19 • Sr. • Kennewick, Wash.

Green was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after a solid week at the plate where he went 10 for 18 with six runs, six doubles, a home run and five RBIs in MSUB’s four-game series against Saint Martin’s. Green’s week was highlighted by a pair of 3 for 4 performances. One came in Friday’s 10-5 win where he scored three runs and the other came in Saturday’s 9-6 victory where he added four RBIs with a double and a home run.

Also Nominated: Austin Ohland (Central Washington), Kailer Saunders (Northwest Nazarene), Brady Bean (Western Oregon).

Pitcher
Ty Pohlmann, Northwest Nazarene
RHP • 6-4 • Sr. • Chandler, Ariz.

Pohlmann was named the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after striking out nine of the 12 batters he faced in 3.1 innings of relief for the Nighthawks against Central Washington without allowing a hit. He threw 1.1 innings in Friday’s 5-3 win, walking two and striking out five before two innings in Saturday’s 6-5 win where he struck out five of the six batters he faced.

Also Nominated: Ryan Arredondo (Central Washington), Trevor Cassell (Montana State Billings), Kameron Richards (Saint Martin’s). 

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington opened the week by finishing its four-game series against Western Oregon with a doubleheader split on Monday in Ellensburg. The Wildcats took an 11-6 loss to start the day before winning the series finale 5-4. Central Washington then went 1-3 at Northwest Nazarene, dropping both games Friday, 9-5 and 5-3, before winning Saturday’s opener 7-2 and falling 6-5 in the final game of the series.

• Sophomore Ben Leid led the way for the offense last week, batting .476 through the six games. Leid went 10 for 21 and recorded a hit in every game while knocking in nine runs and scoring seven runs with two home runs, a triple, a double and four walks. He played one of his best games of the week in Monday’s win where he went 3 for 3 with a three-run home run to take the final lead for the Wildcats.

• Sophomore Reid Rasmussen picked up the win on the mound for CWU on Monday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out three through nine innings of work. Rasmussen also led the pitching staff with an opponent batting average of .175.

• Central Washington will host Whitman for a single non-conference game on Wednesday before returning to GNAC competition next week.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings took three of four games in its home-opening series against Saint Martin’s last week. The Yellowjackets won both games of Friday’s doubleheader, 16-8 and 10-5 as well as Saturday’s opener 9-8 before dropping the series finale 13-12.

• Senior Carson Green was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after batting .556 for the series. Green went 10 for 18 with six runs, six doubles, a home run and five RBIs to lead the MSUB offense. He went 3 for 4 in Saturday’s 9-6 victory with four RBIs, including the game-winning run courtesy of a two-run blast in the eighth inning. Green ranks fourth for MSUB and is ninth in the GNAC with a .315 batting average.

• Sophomore Cy Miller threw four innings in relief last week, allowing four runs on three hits and seven walks and picked up the save in Saturday’s 9-8 win. Miller finished the week with four strikeouts to tie for the most of any pitcher in the series.

• The Yellowjackets have been one of the heaviest-hitting teams in Division II. Their 32 home runs rank 23rd in the Division while their 1.45 home runs per game rank 17th. The lineup went deep 11 times last week led by sophomore Brock Molenda’s three homers.

• Montana State Billings will host Western Oregon this week for doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene opened the week with an 11-9 loss to Division I Utah Valley on Monday before going 3-1 at home against Central Washington. The Nighthawks swept Friday’s doubleheader 9-5 and 5-3 before dropping Saturday’s opener 7-2 and winning the series finale 6-5.

• Senior Ty Pohlmann was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after striking out nine of the 12 batters he faced in 3.1 innings of relief for the Nighthawks without allowing a hit. Pohlmann threw 1.1 innings in Friday’s 5-3 win, walking two and striking out five before throwing two innings in Saturday’s 6-5 win where he struck out five of the six batters he faced.

• Freshman Kailer Saunders posted a big week for NNU, batting .471 and slugging .588 while driving in eight runs and scoring four runs. Saunders went 8 for 17 on the week with a hit in every game, including a 2 for 5 effort where he notched a two-RBI triple against Utah Valley.

• Junior Matthew Reynolds played three games in the outfield last week and hit .500 while going 5 for 10 with two RBIs and four runs scored. Reynolds earned both of his RBIs with a pair of home runs against Central Washington. The highlight of his week came in Friday’s 9-5 win where he went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and a solo shot in the second inning to tie the game.

• Northwest Nazarene will hit the road this week to face Saint Martin’s in a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s went 1-3 on the road against Montana State Billings last week. The Saints dropped both games on Friday, 16-8 and 10-5, before falling 9-8 in Saturday’s opener and bouncing back to take a 13-12 win in the series finale.

• Freshman Brady Bean continues to be the top offensive threat for the Saints and hit .471 for the week with seven RBIs and six runs scored. Bean finished the week 8 for 17 and notched hits in all but one game against MSUB with three doubles, a triple, four walks and a stolen base. Bean went 3 for 5 in Saturday’s win with three RBIs and two runs scored on a double and a walk. He leads the GNAC with a .414 batting average.

• Freshman Carson Jones picked up the lone win of the week on the mound for the Saints on Saturday. Jones threw three innings in relief and allowed four runs in five hits while striking out a pair to earn his first win of the season.

• Junior Reid Little only finished the week 3 for 11 but notched six RBIs and drew two walks in the process. The majority of Little’s production came in the Saturday’s 9-8 loss where he went 1 for 4 with four RBIs courtesy of a three-RBI double in the first inning and a sacrifice hit in the seventh.

• Saint Martin’s will host Northwest Nazarene this week for a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon finished off its series against Central Washington with a split in Monday’s doubleheader, taking an 11-6 win in game one before falling 5-4 in the series finale. The Wolves also hosted Bushnell for a single non-conference game on Wednesday and took a 4-1 victory.

• Senior Jacob Maiben was the most consistent batter for WOU across the three games, batting .462 while going 6 for 13. He finished the week with five runs scored and an RBI with a double and a stolen base. His week was highlighted by a 3 for 5 effort in Monday’s win where he scored two runs and had an RBI.

• Freshman Yuzo Ishioka earned the first win of his college career on the mound against Bushnell. Ishioka threw five innings as the starter against the Beacons and only allowed one hit, no walks and no runs while striking out four batters.

• Western Oregon continues to be one of the best pitching teams in Division II and leads the GNAC and the division with just 6.18 runs allowed per nine innings.

• Western Oregon will play another non-conference game against George Fox on Tuesday before hitting the road to face Montana State Billings for doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.