 |
 |
 |
GNAC Members
Women's Rowing Affiliates
|  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Central Washington enters the week in a tie for second in the GNAC standings along with Western Oregon and as one of four teams in conference to be tied in the standings overall. Related Links
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 PORTLAND, Ore. – Heading into another week of GNAC baseball action, there is just one team that sits alone in the conference standings while the other four teams all enter the week in ties on the table. No. 10 Northwest Nazarene leads the way atop the standings with a 12-4 GNAC record (22-6-1 overall). The Nighthawks are followed by Western Oregon (15-14, 9-7) and Central Washington (14-16, 9-7) in a tie for second place while Saint Martin’s (11-22, 5-11) and Montana State Billings (11-23, 5-11) enter the week in a tie for fourth. With the standings so close, the week looks to provide compelling games up and down the field as two of the top teams in the conference do battle for the second week in a row and the Saints aim to put themselves firmly in the postseason picture. Montana State Billings will be the lone team not in action this week as it takes time off following an eight-game homestand at Dehler Park. The Yellowjackets will be keeping an eye on the standings as they prepare for a matchup with Saint Martin’s next week.
View the complete 2024 GNAC baseball schedule online here.
Northwest Nazarene comes into the week with sole possession of first place in the conference standings after becoming the first team to hit double-digit GNAC wins this year last week. The Nighthawks have built their record on a foundation of defensive success, ranking second in the league and 22d in Division II with a .974 fielding percentage. That defensive ability in the field paired with a league-leading 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio has yielded a GNAC-low 4.62 ERA. The busiest defensive player for NNU this season has been Kaleb Karpstein the Nighthawks’ regular first baseman. In 232 chances, Karpstein has notched 225 putouts and committed just a single error. While maintaining his defensive strength, Karpstein has also driven in 21 RBIs to rank third on the team while hitting .243 and slugging .346 courtesy of five doubles and two home runs. Northwest Nazarene’s starting pitching has been elite all season, but one of its biggest strengths may come from deeper in the rotation in the form of redshirt freshman Wade Duncan. The right-hander from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has made 13 appearances in relief this season and has made the most of every pitch to compile a 4-1 record and a 2.11 ERA through 21.1 innings of work. Through those 21.1 innings, Duncan has also picked up six saves, including two in his last two appearances, to lead the GNAC and rank sixth in Division II. Western Oregon has been on a roll as of late, winning seven of its last 10 games to move into a tie for second place in the conference standings. The Wolves have also been rewarded for their defensive strength, boasting a league-leading .976 fielding percentage that ranks 12th in the nation. As a team, WOU owns a 4.83 ERA that is tied for second in the conference while the rotation boasts the reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Week in Bryce Bond. The junior right-hander has notched three saves in 11 appearances, including one last week, while racking up 18 strikeouts across 13.2 innings of work and owning a 5.27 ERA. The offense backs up that defensive effort by being the best in the conference when it comes to two-out at-bats. As a team, the Wolves enter the week hitting .297 when down to their final out in an inning. AJ Cortese has been exceptional in that exact situation this season, hitting .429 to lead the team and rank second in the GNAC. Few players in the conference have more hits than WOU’s Curran Mitzel coming into the week as the senior from Hillsboro, Ore., ranks eighth in the GNAC with 35 knocks to his name. On the season, Mitzel ranks second on the team with a .302 batting average and has tallied 18 RBIs to go along with five doubles, four triples and a home run. A steady presence on the basepaths, Mitzel has also stolen four bases while being caught just once. BATTLE ON THE BUBBLE: Central Washington (14-16, 9-7) enters the week in a tie for second in the GNAC standings and will hit the road to take on Saint Martin’s (11-22, 5-11) as the Saints come into the week tied for fourth. The Wildcats come into the four-game series on the heels of just one win last time out against first-place Northwest Nazarene while SMU should be well rested after playing just a single non-conference game against Pacific Lutheran last Wednesday, a 6-1 win for the Saints. The Wildcats own the top team batting average in the conference hitting .304 coming into the week and build much of their success off putting runners on the bases early in the inning. Along with leading in overall batting average, CWU also leads the conference with a .407 on-base percentage for leadoff batters and advances runners almost half of the time. All those numbers add up to regular second baseman Marcus Manzardo racking up the second most hits in the conference while being a regular fixture at the top of the order. Through 123 at-bats, Manzardo has notched 43 hits, including two doubles and a triple, to rank third on the team with a .350 batting average. He has also drawn 11 walks to give himself a .404 on-base percentage, a factor of consistency that sees him tied for the GNAC lead with 28 runs scored. In just 11 innings of work through nine appearances this season, Nolan Milliman has compiled the most wins of any CWU pitcher with a 4-2 record and owns a team-low 2.45 ERA. The junior right-hander from Yorba Linda, Calif., has allowed just five runs, three earned, all year as one of the Wildcats’ key relievers. In his last two appearances, Milliman has held the opposition scoreless against two of the hottest lineups in the league in Northwest Nazarene (200 runs scored) and Montana State Billings (194 runs scored). Saint Martin’s will be looking to bring itself back into the postseason picture this week as it goes toe-toe with the Wildcats. While not boasting as much power as other lineups, the Saints have been incredibly patient in the batter’s box and enter the week tied for second in the conference with 98 walks on the year, trailing only first-place NNU. Individually, senior outfielder Austin Schaler leads the team and ranks second in the league with 18 walks drawn. His sharp eye at the plate has contributed to a .403 on-base percentage to go along with a .288 batting average that includes seven doubles, a triple and four home runs. Schaler has made the most of his time on the basepaths, leading the team with 22 runs scored and seven stolen bases to tie for fourth in the conference. Saint Martin’s pitcher Colin Driscoll enters the week leading the league with 49 strikeouts on the season while also ranking second with 49 innings of work under his belt. Through those innings, the junior right-hander has amassed a 2-3 record and a 3.31 ERA that also ranks second in the conference. Taking the rest of the defense out of the equation, Driscoll has been one of the best in the conference at commanding the factors under his control, allowing just nine extra-base hits all season and just 2.39 walks per game on average while also checking in at No. 4 in the league with a 3.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio. SHARPENING THE STINGERS: Montana State Billings (11-23, 5-11) will have the week off from competition as it prepares to hit the road again after a season-long eight-game homestand. The Yellowjackets won their series opener against Western Oregon 5-4 last Friday but couldn’t hold off the reining regular season champion and dropped the final three games of the series. The ‘Jackets will be looking to rest and improve this week as they prepare for their four-game set at Saint Martin’s which begins with a doubleheader on Friday, April 12. Junior Jack Nehler has been the most reliable batter for MSUB coming into the off-week, hitting a team-leading .368 to rank fourth in the conference. In addition to his reliability, Nehler has produced power at the plate and ranks fourth in the conference with a .575 slugging percentage courtesy of nine doubles and three home runs. The Gresham, Ore., native rounds out his resume as MSUB’s top offensive player by also leading the team with a .429 on-base percentage that checks in at No. four in the GNAC as well. On the mound, junior left-hander Jackson Betancourt has thrown the most of any pitcher in the conference this year with 52 innings under his belt. Through nine appearances on the bump, Betancourt has compiled a 3-3 record to go along with a 5.54 ERA. He has notched 37 strikeouts on the season while allowing just 11 walks to rank fifth in the GNAC with a 3.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Saint Martin’s will likely look to McLaughlin as it aims to put itself back in the postseason picture starting with its series against Central Washington this week. The senior infielder from Moorpark, Calif., has been the most reliable bat for the Saints this season, hitting .333 while appearing in 27 of the team’s 33 games, including 25 starts. Across his 93 at-bats, McLaughlin has racked up a team-leading 18 RBIs on 31 hits, including 10 doubles, a triple and a home run. He is one of four players tied for the conference lead in doubles as he also owns a .495 slugging percentage. McLaughlin comes into the week as hot as anybody in the conference and has notched multi-hit performances in three of his last six games while picking up at least one hit on all but one occasion. During that stretch, he had a three-hit game against Western Oregon that featured a pair of doubles on March 17 and a pair of two-RBI performances against Northwest Nazarene last week.
While splitting time between first base and the bump, Pierce has found most of his success this season on the mound. The freshman right-hander from Maple Valley, Wash., has picked up a pair of wins through eight appearances and 37.2 innings this season while also amassing a team-leading 3.58 ERA that ranks fifth in the league. While Pierce has picked up 13 strikeouts on the way to his two wins, arguably the most impressive element has been his ability to avoid giving batters a free pass to first base. On the season, Pierce has issued just three walks to lead the league and rank second in Division II with just 0.72 walks allowed per nine innings. Pierce has just two starts under his belt coming into the Wildcats’ four-game series against the Saints but could earn his third in short order if continues to throw strikes more often than not.
Team Rankings (Top-30)
Complete Games: 6. CWU, 5; 6. SMU, 5; 18. WOU, 4 Individual Rankings (Top-30) Complete Games: 2. Daniel Charron, CWU, 4; 8. Justice Yamashita, SMU, 3; 26. Arturo Alvarez, WOU, 2; 26. Jackson Betancourt, MSUB, 2; 26. Colin Driscoll, SMU, 2
Player of the Week - Randy Stultz, Western Oregon First-career player of the week – first this season. Stultz played a key role in all three of the Wolves’ wins last week, hitting a GNAC-high .667 (6-for-9) and reaching base at a clip of .727 (8-for-11). Stultz kicked off his week going 2-for-2 with a double, a home run and four RBIs in the Wolves’ 13-3 rout of Montana State Billings. He followed that by going 4-for-7 in the second doubleheader of the weekend, adding two more RBIs, a double and three runs scored. Stultz played error-free defense in eight chances in left field in the series. “Randy really utilized our bye week to put in some extra work with Coach (Trevor) Podratz, and then took advantage of his opportunity to be in the lineup,” said WOU head coach Kellen Walker. Also Nominated: Ben Leid, CWU; Kaden Kirshenbaum, MSUB; Carter Walsh, NNU; Alohi Arecchi, SMU.
Pitcher of the Week - Bryce Bond, Western Oregon Second-career player of the week – first this season. Bond was crucial for the Wolves out of the bullpen last week, allowing just two baserunners for a WHIP of 0.42 across his two spotless appearances. Bond struck out four hitters across his 4 1/3 innings of work, while allowing just one hit and one walk on his way to a 0.00 ERA. Bond collected his third save of the season on Saturday, entering with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and preserving his team’s 2-1 lead with a gutsy strikeout. The right-hander went on to finish the game, retiring seven straight Yellowjackets to seal a series win for WOU. “We got two competitive outings from Bryce out of the ‘pen against a really good offense in the Billings lineup,” Walker said. Also Nominated: Jonathan Garza II, CWU; Ryun Cross, MSUB; Blake Hammond, NNU; Isaiah Mayfield-Prieto, SMU.
The 2024 GNAC Baseball Championships will be held May 9-10 at Dehler Park in Billings Mont., and will be hosted by Montana State University Billings. The top three teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings by win percentage will advance to the tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.
Points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CONTACT INFORMATION
Great Northwest Athletic Conference 8800 SE Sunnyside Rd., Suite #102N Clackamas, OR 97015 (o) 503.305.8756 | ||
|
© 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | Mobile Site |
|
|
Print
Email
RSS
Share