View the complete 2024 GNAC baseball schedule online here.

 
FLOAT LIKE A WILDCAT, STING LIKE A YELLOWJACKET: Montana State Billings (8-18, 2-6 GNAC) is set to host Central Washington (11-11, 6-2) for a four-game set that was originally scheduled for later in the week but has now been pushed up to begin with a Thursday doubleheader. The ‘Jackets come into the week looking to get back in the win column after dropping four straight last week against Northwest Nazarene while the Wildcats are looking to keep pace with the Nighthawks atop the GNAC standings.

Junior infielder Zack Blaszak has been the most reliable player at the plate for MSUB to start the year with a .365 batting average. Blaszak also brings a fair bit of production to the Yellowjacket lineup as he ranks second on the team with 18 RBIs 35 hits, seven doubles, two triples and three home runs. The top slugging rights in Billings belong to senior Payton Flynn however, as he slugs .618 and has racked up a team-leading 25 RBIs on three doubles, two triples and seven home runs.

Nobody has made more appearances on the mound for MSUB this season than Sage Wayment. The junior right-hander from Plain City, Utah, has toed the rubber 10 times for the ‘Jackets this season, all in relief, and owns a 4.58 ERA to go with his 1-0 record. Through 19.2 innings of work, Wayment has struck out 13 batters and allowed 10 earned runs.

Central Washington comes into Billings as the top-hitting and pitching team in the conference and should be well-rested after taking last week off from competition. Entering the week, the Wildcats own a .303 batting average and a 4.35 ERA while racking up 10.18 hits per game. Senior catcher Austin Ohland leads CWU at the plate, hitting .380 while also slugging a team-leading .570. Across 79 at-bats, Ohland has notched 17 RBIs on 30 hits, including nine doubles and two home runs. As a team, Central Washington’s lineup owns five of the top six batting averages in the league.

On the mound, the Wildcats are led by junior right-hander Daniel Charron with a 2.96 ERA that ranks fourth in the league. Through five appearances, Charron owns a 2-2 record and has thrown a GNAC-leading three complete games while holding opponents to a .241 batting average across 27.1 innings of work. He has struck out 18 batters in 99 at-bats while allowing just four extra-base hits and six walks.

FLYING HIGH: Northwest Nazarene (16-4-1, 6-2) returns home to host Saint Martin’s (9-19, 4-8) this week after sweeping Montana State Billings on the road last time out. With CWU taking last week off, the four wins moved NNU up into a tie for the lead of the conference standings while Saint Martin’s also moved up to fourth in the standings after splitting its series with Western Oregon last week. The teams are set to play a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.

The Nighthawks come into the series on the heels of one of their highest-scoring weeks of the year after putting 45 runs on the board against the Yellowjackets. Sophomore Kaleb Karpstein has led the team in production and ranks second in the GNAC with 21 RBIs in 21 games. Senior infielder Duke Pahukoa, meanwhile, has been the most consistent Nighthawk at the plate this season and owns a .348 batting average to rank seventh in the league. Across just 16 games, Pahukoa has tallied 14 RBIs on two doubles and three home runs while drawing six walks.

The NNU rotation has been led by the dominant left arm of Kyle Ethridge as he leads the conference with a 2.08 ERA while holding opponents to a .198 batting average. Across 34.2 innings of work, Ethridge has compiled a 3-1 record while striking out 27 batters and allowing just eight runs. He also leads the GNAC and ranks 10th in Division II with a 9.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Saint Martin’s also brings one of the conference’s aces to the mound in reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Week Justice Yamashita. Fresh on the heels of his fifth-career Pitcher of the Week award, Yamashita leads the Saints and is second in the league with a 2.84 ERA through 38 innings. The senior right-hander has amassed 34 strikeouts to tie for second in the conference and has been one of the busiest pitchers in the GNAC, averaging 5.43 innings per game.

Offensively, Saint Martin’s has been led by senior Dylan McLaughlin with a .329 batting average that ranks 10th in the league to go along with 13 RBIs. In addition to his consistency, McLaughlin has been no slouch when it comes to power and owns a .481 slugging percentage on nine doubles and one home run to lead the team. Junior outfielder Hunter Sasaki has been another key batter for the Saints, batting .311 and slugging .378 while also driving in 13 runs.

WOLVES, BRUINS & BASEBALL, OH MY!: Western Oregon (11-13, 6-6) will be the lone team not in GNAC action this week as it plays a single game against George Fox on Wednesday. The Wolves come into their meeting with the Bruins in Newberg on the heels of a 2-2 week against Saint Martin’s. Western Oregon won its series-opener against the Saints 1-0 before falling by the same margin to end Saturday. The Wolves picked up their second win of the week to stay at .500 in the standings with a 10-6 victory before falling 3-1 in the finale last Sunday.

The WOU pitching staff is led by junior right-hander Dylan Chalmers. The reigning Co-GNAC Pitcher of the Year has amassed a 2-2 record to start the season and ranks fifth in the conference with a 3.03 ERA through 35.2 innings of work. Chalmers has allowed just 12 earned runs this season while striking out 34 batters to tie for second in the league. Offensively, Western Oregon is led by junior infielder John Oleson with a .323 batting average and 16 RBIs. Across 93 at-bats, Oleson has notched 30 hits, including three doubles and two home runs. He is joined by a pair of Wolves with 17 RBIs in Curran Mitzel and Emiliano Alarcon.

After sweeping Montana State Billings last week, Northwest Nazarene (16-4-1, 6-2 GNAC) has moved back up to 12th in the NCBWA national rankings, making it six straight weeks that Nighthawks have received votes in the poll and their fifth week in the top 25. While pitching and defense has built much of the early season success for the Nighthawks this season, last week was a reminder to the conference that they have plenty of power at the plate as well. Across its four-game series with MSUB, Northwest Nazarene outscored the ‘Jackets 45-24 and never finished with less than six runs on the board. In the regional rankings, the Nighthawks remain at No. 2 while Central Washington also continues to receive votes.

Complete Games: 5. SMU, 4; 13. CWU, 3; 13. WOU, 3
Double Plays: 2. MSUB, 27
Double Plays Per Game: 7. MSUB, 1.04; 23. NNU, 0.90
Fielding Percentage: 13. NNU, .977
Hit Batters: 26. SMU, 46
Home Runs: 14. MSUB, 34
Home Runs Per Game: 26. MSUB, 1.31
Shutouts: 18. CWU, 2; 18. NNU, 2
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 12. NNU, 2.72
Triples: 19. MSUB, 9; 26. WOU, 8
WHIP: 4. NNU, 1.20
Win-Loss Percentage: 12. NNU, .786
Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings: 1. NNU, 2.32; 6. CWU, 2.82

Complete Games: 1. Daniel Charron, CWU, 3
Games Started: 7. Jackson Betancourt, MSUB, 7; 7. Colin Driscoll, SMU, 7; 7. Cole Hatton, SMU, 7; 7. Justice Yamashita, SMU, 7
Hit Batters: 3. Cole Hatton, SMU, 13
Sacrifice Bunts: 7. Carter Walsh, NNU, 6; 21. Emiliano Alarcon, WOU, 5
Sacrifice Bunts Per Game: 10. Carter Walsh, NNU, 0.29
Saves: 16. Wade Duncan, NNU, 4
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 10. Kyle Ethridge, NNU, 9.00
Strikeouts: 14. Colin Driscoll, SMU, 46
Triples: 16. Curran Mitzel, WOU, 3
WHIP: 8. Kyle Ethridge, NNU, 0.78; 16. Colin Driscoll, SMU, 0.88
Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings: 6. Logan Pierce, CWU, 0.75; 7. Kyle Ethridge, NNU, 0.78; 24. Blaze Wong, SMU, 1.14; 30. Kailer Saunders, NNU, 1.25

 Points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.