Wednesday, March 14, 2018

WILDCATS, WOLVES PRIMED FOR EARLY-SEASON SHOWDOWN: With the third week of conference play approaching, it is Central Washington and Western Oregon that sit atop the GNAC standings. Fast forward a few days and it will be the two battling it out in Ellensburg, Wash., for sole possession of first place.

At 7-1, Central Washington has taken the GNAC by storm after winning its opening seven conference games. The Wildcats lead the league with a .308 batting average and have scored the most runs among GNAC teams with 133. Central Washington also has the two best GNAC hitters in terms of batting average in Dustin Braun (.410) and James Smith III (.384). The senior has combined for 32 runs batted in and account for 33 of CWU’s runs scored.

After starting the season 0-7, Western Oregon has opened the GNAC season winning six of its first eight contests. Pitching has been a mainstay for the Wolves this season as they have recorded a 2.95 earned run average in GNAC play. Western Oregon has also been the league’s best fielding team during the stretch as it owns a .982 fielding percentage and has committed just 14 errors all season.

GNAC DUO IN THE RANKINGS: In the latest edition of the NCBWA Division II West Region Poll, Montana State Billings (23 points) and Central Washington (19 points) represent the GNAC as the No. 7 and No. 8 ranked teams, respectively. In the preseason edition of the poll, both the Yellowjackets and Wildcats received votes. Montana State Billings is currently in third place at 5-3 while Central Washington sits atop the GNAC at 7-1.  Montana State Billings and Central Washington are also the only two GNAC teams with overall records better than .500.

THIS WEEK'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
James Smith III, Central Washington
OF • 6-1 • Sr. • Riverside, Calif.

Smith led the Wildcats to a series victory over Concordia as he went 9 for 18 in the four games with four doubles, four runs, a home run and six RBIs. Smith opened the series by going 3 for 5 in the opener and had two RBIs on a double to left-center in the third in Saturday’s 12-7 victory. He then went 5 for 6 in Sunday’s opener, which included a pair of RBI doubles and a solo home run.

Also Nominated: Dominic Enbody (Concordia), Kade Hall (Montana State Billings), Griffey Halle (Western Oregon).

Pitcher
Alex Roth, Western Oregon
P • 6-5 • So. • Peoria, Ariz.

Roth threw seven scoreless innings to lead the Wolves to an 8-0 win over Montana State Billings on Friday. He allowed four hits and a walk and struck out six to earn his first win of the season. In the process, he allowed just two runners past first base.

Also Nominated: Connor Stevenson (Central Washington), Jared Winslow (Montana State Billings).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington earned a series win over Concordia as it took the opening three games 12-7, 6-1 and 18-5 before falling in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader 11-5.

• The Wildcats’ offense showed up big in the series as they hit for a .396 average and led all GNAC teams with 53 hits, 10 doubles, 41 runs and three home runs last weekend.

• Sophomore Justin Hampson paced the CWU offense by hitting .700 over the four games. During the series, Hampson tallied seven hits, six RBIs, five runs and a triple. His best game came in the series-opener when he went 4 for 5 with three runs batted in. Hampson is 11th in the GNAC with a .327 batting average and has 12 RBIs this year.

• Senior James Smith III was named the GNAC Player of the Week after he went 9 for 18 in the four games with four doubles, four runs, a home run and six RBIs. Smith opened the series by going 3 for 5 in the opener and had two RBIs on a double to left-center in the third in Saturday’s 12-7 victory. He then went 5 for 6 in Sunday’s opener, which included a pair of RBI doubles and a solo home run. Smith III is second in the GNAC with .384 average and has a league-leading 12 doubles.

• Junior Connor Stevenson earned his third win of the season after allowing just one run on five hits in seven innings of work during the Wildcats’ 6-1 win on Saturday. Stevenson is second in the GNAC with a 1.42 ERA and is one of three conference pitchers with three victories.

• The Wildcats lead the GNAC with a .308 batting average and have scored 133 runs on 189 hits. Their pitching staff is second in the conference with a 5.32 ERA and has compiled 107 strikeouts this season. Central Washington has five of the GNAC’s top-15 hitters in terms of batting percentage with all five hitting better than .327.

• Central Washington stays home to host second-place Western Oregon for a four-game series this weekend.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia dropped a four-game series to Central Washington last week after taking 12-7. 6-1 and 18-5 losses in the opening three contests. The Cavaliers did manage a win in Sunday’s doubleheader, however, taking an 11-5 victory over the Wildcats.

• Despite the defeats, the Cavaliers were second among all GNAC teams last week with a .280 batting average. They managed 24 runs on 37 hits and recorded eight doubles.

• Senior Cole Crosby led the team by hitting .500 in three games. Batting leadoff in the win on Sunday night, Crosby went 4 for 5 and tallied two runs. He finished the weekend with seven hits and a double.

• Junior Mitch Bevacqua played an instrumental role in the Cavs’ 11-5 win. Bevacqua opened the game with a two-run home run to left field to give Concordia the early 2-0 advantage and later notched an RBI single in the second inning to give the Cavs a 4-0 lead. He ended the game 2 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

• Picking up his second save of the season, junior Andrew Willmon provided three innings of relief and allowed just one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts in the series finale. In four appearances this season, he is second on the team with a 2.25 earned run average.

• Concordia is hitting .234 this year and has recorded 135 hits and 26 doubles.

• The Cavs take the road this weekend for a series with Northwest Nazarene.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• In a series that was played in two cities over four games, Montana State Billings came away with a split against Western Oregon. Playing Friday’s doubleheader in Newberg, Ore., the Yellowjackets dropped the series opener 8-0 before earning a 3-0 win in the nightcap. In Saturday’s twinbill that took place at Concordia University’s Porter Park, Western Oregon picked up 5-3 win before MSUB won 2-1 in the series     finale.

• Timely pitching helped MSUB salvage the series split. In their two wins, the Yellowjackets limited Western Oregon to fewer than three hits and allowed just three walks.

• Over the four games, junior Kaleo Johnson led the Yellowjackets with a .308 batting average. The junior finished the series 4 for 13 with one run scored, an RBI and a double. Johnson strengths have been in the field this season as he has a .917 fielding percentage along with nine assists.

• Junior Kade Hall paced the Yellowjackets by batting .357 over the two games, which included five hits, three runs scored and a run batted in. Hall played a key role in Sunday’s win as he scored the game-winning run in the sixth inning for a 2-1 victory. Hall, the only Yellowjacket to start all 18 games this season, is averaging a .347 batting average and has recorded 15 RBIs and a .507 slugging percentage.

• Junior Steen Fredrickson improved to 4-0 on the season after pitching five shutout innings in Friday’s 3-0 victory. Fredrickson leads the GNAC in wins and is fourth in the league with a 3.24 earned run average.

• Montana State Billings is second in the GNAC with a .277 batting average and is among Division II leaders with nine sacrifice flies. It remains No. 7 in the Division II NCBWA West Region Rankings.

• The Yellowjackets continue their 22-game road trip against Saint Martin’s this weekend.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene ended its 10-game losing skid with a series win over Saint Martin’s last weekend. After dropping the series opener on Saturday, 4-1, the Nighthawks rallied to win three straight on Monday to claim the series. The second game of Saturday’s twinbill was suspended until Monday morning due to lack of light. Northwest Nazarene ended the series with 2-1, 6-2 and 15-6 wins.

• The Nighthawks’ pitching staff played lights out as it recorded a 3.18 earned run average and struck out a GNAC-best 40 hitters last week.

• Batting .471 over the four contests, sophomore Parker Price knocked in five RBIs on eight hits and recorded a double. Price went 4 for 5 with two runs scored in game three before ending the series going 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

• Junior Kyle Redford provided a solid weekend at the plate as he went 6 for 15 for a .400 batting average. Redford drove in one run on two hits in the 2-1 win before reaching base four times and recording an RBI in the series finale. The junior has started in all but one game this season and has been perfect in the field and has a team-high 103 putouts.

• Coming in midway through the third inning of game two, junior Greg Casper picked up his first win of the season after throwing 7.2 innings of relief while allowing just three hits and recording 14 strikeouts.  

• The Nighthawks are third in the GNAC batting .268 and have hit a league-leading 19 home runs.

• Northwest Nazarene hosts Concordia this weekend for a four-game series in Nampa, Idaho.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Taking on Northwest Nazarene last weekend, Saint Martin’s captured the series opener on Saturday, 4-1, before losing the final three games 2-1, 6-2, 15-6.

• The second game of Saturday’s twinbill was suspended in the ninth inning due to lack of light but was completed Monday morning.

• Errors plagued the Saints on Monday as the team committed nine errors over the two games. Of the 21 Northwest Nazarene runs scored that day, 10 were unearned.

• Pacing the SMU offense was senior Steven Sordahl, who finished the series with a .438 batting average. The senior recorded seven hits and two RBIs while smashing a double and a triple. Sordahl is 16th in the GNAC with a .311 batting average and leads the Saints with 19 hits.

• Junior Austin Feist had himself a solid outing at the plate after he recorded six hits and batted .429 over the four games. Feist sealed the Saints’ series-opening win after extending SMU’s lead 4-1 with a solo home run to left field in the seventh inning.

• Junior Clark Streby earned his first win of the season after allowing just five hits and one run in six innings of work to go along with six strikeouts in the series opener.

• As a team, Saint Martin’s is hitting .233 this season and is one of two GNAC teams with five triples.

• Saint Martin’s continues its eight-game homestand as it hosts Montana State Billings this weekend.

WESTERN OREGON
• Looking to build off its four-game sweep in the GNAC’s opening week, Western Oregon earned a split against Montana State Billings last weekend. The Wolves took the series opener 8-0 before falling in the nightcap 3-0 on Friday. Similar to the day before, Western Oregon took a 5-3 win before falling to the Yellowjackets 2-1 in Saturday’s doubleheader.

• Due to poor field conditions, the opening two contests were played in Newberg, Ore., while Saturday’s contests were completed at Concordia University’s Porter Park.

• The Western Oregon pitching staff dominated the weekend as it allowed just eight runs over the four contests for a 1.97 earned run average.

• Freshman Griffey Halle led the Wolves with a .364 batting average, which included four hits, three runs scored, two RBIs and a double. Halle did most of his damage in the series opener as he went 2 for 3, which was highlighted by his two-run home run in the fourth inning to give WOU a 2-0 lead.

• Sophomore Alex Roth was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after he threw seven scoreless innings in the 8-0 win on Friday. He allowed four hits and a walk and struck out six to earn his first win of the season. In the process, he allowed just two runners past first base.

• Western Oregon is fourth in the GNAC with a .258 batting average. Fielding has been a strength this season as the Wolves lead the GNAC with a .973 fielding percentage and have committed just 14 errors all season.

• The Wolves take on one of the hottest teams in the GNAC right now as they travel to Ellensburg, Wash., this weekend for a four-game tilt against Central Washington.