Wednesday, March 31, 2021

NIGHTHAWKS DO SOME SPRING CLEANING: Northwest Nazarene broke out the brooms last week, sweeping Saint Martin’s in four games on Friday and Saturday to extend its winning streak to seven games.

The Nighthawks also swept the Player of the Week awards after their strong outing in Lacey. Senior third baseman Shawn Grandmont was named the GNAC Player of the Week while freshman Kyle Ethridge earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season. Grandmont was also named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II West Region Player of the Week.

Grandmont went 9 for 16 with five runs, 10 RBI, a double, a triple, and two three-run home runs, the first of which accounted for all of the scoring in a 3-0 second-game win on Friday.

Ethridge was the starting pitcher in Friday’s second-game victory. He tossed six solid innings, allowing just two singles while walking two and fanning 12.

Northwest Nazarene is 17-3 overall and 11-1 in GNAC play. The Nighthawks will enjoy a bye week before putting their winning streak on the line as they host a surging Western Oregon team on April 9 and 10.

WOU STAFF SILENCES BUZZING MSUB BATS: After splitting a four-game series at Central Washington to open conference play, Western Oregon came out firing last week. The Wolves took three of four conference games at home over Montana State Billings on Friday and Saturday, allowing just four total runs in the three wins.

Senior Mike Peterson picked up his second win of the season in Friday’s 9-2 first-game victory, allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts in six innings. Fellow senior Trae Perkins earned the save, pitching the last three innings and allowing one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts.

Sophomore Matthew Dunaway earned the win in Friday’s 5-1 nightcap, tossing five innings and allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Senior Nick Parr snagged the third pitching victory in Saturday’s 7-1 seven-inning finale. He allowed just a first-inning solo home run while walking one and striking out six in five innings of work.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Shawn Grandmont, Northwest Nazarene
3B • 6-1 • Sr. • Lethbridge, Alta.

Grandmont finished with a .562 batting average in the Nighthawks’ four-game conference sweep of Saint Martin’s. He went 9 for 16 with five runs, 10 RBI, a double, a triple, two home runs and two stolen bases. Grandmont went 2 for 4 with an RBI single in Friday’s 6-2 opener. He accounted for all of the scoring in the 3-0 second game with a three-run home run. He hit another three-run homer in Saturday’s first game then closed the week by going 3 for 3 with two RBI in the finale.

Also Nominated: Daniel Cipriano (Montana State Billings), Aaron Renaud (Saint Martin’s), Connor McCord (Western Oregon).

PITCHER
Kyle Ethridge, Northwest Nazarene
LHP • 6-0 • Fr. • Alta Loma, Calif.

Ethridge improved to 3-0 on the season, picking up the win in Friday’s 3-0 second-game victory. The freshman tossed six innings of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits to go with two walks and 12 strikeouts. Of his 100 pitches, 66 were strikes.

Also Nominated: Dylan Barkley (Montana State Billings), Tanner Inouye (Saint Martin’s), Matthew Dunaway (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not play last week. The Wildcats went 1-3 at Northwest Nazarene on Mar. 19 and 20, taking the opener, 4-2. The Wildcats lost the next three games by scores of 7-2, 7-3 and 3-1.

• Freshman outfielder Zach Berryman leads the GNAC with a .500 batting average, a .592 on-base percentage and 1.67 hits per game. His .500 batting average also ranks No. 15 in Division II.

• Senior outfielder Justin Hampson is batting .400 with 16 hits, nine runs, five RBI, seven doubles and three walks. He is seventh in the conference in batting average, ninth in on-base percentage (.467) and 11th in slugging percentage (.575). Hampson is 39th in Division II with three sacrifice bunts.

• Freshman pitcher Reid Rasmussen leads the Wildcats with a 4.26 earned run average. He has allowed six earned runs on 14 hits with six walks and 10 strikeouts in 12.2 innings pitched.

• Central Washington moved up one spot to No. 8 in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• Central Washington is 3-5 in conference play (5-7 overall). The Wildcats will return to action on Friday and Saturday as they host Montana State Billings.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings won one of four games at Western Oregon last week. The Yellowjackets lost both games of Friday’s doubleheader, 9-2 and 5-1. They split Saturday’s twinbill, winning the opener, 18-2, before losing the finale, 7-1.

• Sophomore Dylan Barkley earned the win on Saturday to improve to 1-2 on the season. He allowed two unearned runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in seven innings. Junior Mason Abrath and senior Blake Tritch tossed the final two innings to secure the win.

• Senior first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Cipriano led the Yellowjackets at the plate again last week with a .400 batting average and .625 on-base percentage. He went 4 for 10 with two runs, two RBI, a double and two walks. Cipriano went 2 for 3 with two runs, an RBI hit by pitch and an RBI double in Saturday’s win.

• Cipriano is the Division II leader in home runs with 11. His 36 career homers is seven shy of the record of 43, held by Chandler Tracy (2012-15) of Saint Martin’s.

• Junior infielder/outfielder Will Riley went 5 for 15 in the four games with four runs and an RBI. He went 4 for 5 with three runs and an RBI double in the 18-2 win.

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

• Montana State Billings is 4-16 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Yellowjackets will stay on the road this week, playing at Central Washington on Friday and Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene swept Saint Martin’s in Lacey last week, winning by scores of 6-2 and 3-0 on Friday and 8-4 and 8-1 on Saturday.

• Senior third baseman Shawn Grandmont was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week and the NCBWA Division II West Region Player of the Week after a strong outing at the plate. He batted .562, going 9 for 16 with five runs, 10 RBI, a double, a triple, and a pair of three-run home runs. Grandmont accounted for all of the scoring in Friday’s 3-0 win with a three-run shot in the third inning. He went 3 for 5 in Saturday’s first game with two runs, an RBI single and another three-run bomb.

• Freshman Kyle Ethridge was named the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after earning the win in Friday’s seven-inning second game to improve to 3-0 on the season. He allowed just two hits while walking two and striking out 12 in six innings. Senior Max Holtzclaw picked up the save, tossing a near-perfect seventh inning, allowing one hit and picking up all three outs via strikeout.

• Freshman utility player Grant Kerry batted .385 in the series with five hits, two runs, four RBI, a double and four walks. His week was highlighted by a 2 for 4 performance in Saturday’s first game with a walk and a pair of RBI singles.

• Northwest Nazarene is ranked No. 15 in the latest NCBWA Division II Rankings, released on Mar. 24. The Nighthawks also moved up to No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, released Monday. The Nighthawks stay put at No. 2 in this week’s NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings behind Azusa Pacific.

• Northwest Nazarene is 17-3 overall and is off to a solid 11-1 start in conference play. The Nighthawks do not play this week and will look to extend their seven-game winning streak as they host Western Oregon on April 9 and 10.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s has lost six straight games after being swept by Northwest Nazarene on Friday and Saturday. The Saints lost by scores of 6-2, 3-0, 8-4 and 8-1.

• Despite taking the loss in Friday’s second game, senior Tanner Inouye had the best pitching performance for the Saints. He allowed three earned runs on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. The three runs allowed came on a three-run homer off the bat of NNU’s Shawn Grandmont in the third inning.

• Sophomore first baseman Aaron Renaud led the Saints at the plate with a .357 batting average in the four games, going 5 for 14 with three runs and a walk. He went 3 for 4 with two runs and a walk in Saturday’s first game.

• Saint Martin’s has a .210 team batting average and a 9.17 earned run average. The Saints are third in the conference with 70 runs, 59 RBI, eight home runs and 55 walks.

• Saint Martin’s is 4-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The Saints will look to break their six-game skid as they play at Western Oregon on Friday and Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon won three of four games against Montana State Billings at home on Friday and Saturday. The Wolves swept Friday’s doubleheader, 9-2 and 5-1. They split Saturday’s doubleheader, losing the first game, 18-2, and winning the second game, 7-1.

• Sophomore Matthew Dunaway picked up his first win of the season in Friday’s 5-1 victory. He allowed one earned run on two hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in five innings. Dunaway is third in the GNAC with a 3.75 earned run average. He ranks No. 9 in Division II with 15.75 strikeouts per nine innings.

• Senior first baseman Connor McCord had a big week at the plate, batting .462 with six hits, four runs, six RBI, three doubles, a home run and two walks. McCord went 3 for 5 with an RBI double and a solo homer in Friday’s opener. He closed the week by going 2 for 2 with an RBI double and an RBI single in the finale.

• Western Oregon stays at No. 5 in the latest NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings.

• With the series win over the Yellowjackets, Western Oregon improves to 5-3 in conference play (6-4 overall). The Wolves will continue their homestand this week, hosting Saint Martin’s on Friday and Saturday.