Yellowjackets face No. 16 Dixie State this weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, February 21, 2017 Yellowjackets face No. 16 Dixie State this weekend

MSUB’s final non-conference series of the year is against another ranked opponent in No. 16 Dixie State University this weekend on the road.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Carrying momentum from consecutive wins over No. 12 Colorado Mesa last week, the Montana State University Billings baseball team faces another ranked opponent this weekend in a three-game series at No. 16 Dixie State University.

The Yellowjackets (2-5) will play their final three non-conference games of the 2017 season in St. George, Utah, with single, 9-inning games on Friday through Sunday at Bruce Hurst Field. Live statistics will be available for all three games at this link.

“We have to go into this series with the mindset that we’ve got to improve as a club,” said first-year head coach Aaron Sutton. “We are playing another quality opponent, and are going to be tested. We have sent the message of embracing the challenge of being on the road and playing a good team to our guys this week.”

MSUB won its last two games at CMU last week, after losing three at Colorado Mines to start the year and a pair to the Mavericks to start their most recent series.

PICTURE PERFECT PITCHER: Making his collegiate debut last week, freshman left-hander Sam Muskat threw five perfect innings out of the bullpen as he retired all 15 batters that he faced in MSUB’s 7-2 win in the finale against CMU. The Beaverton, Ore., native was rewarded with Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week honors, as he needed just 50 pitches to get through his stellar outing.

He and fellow Oregonian Steen Fredrickson, a sophomore out of Ashland, combined to set MSUB up for the win, the latter starting and throwing the first four innings.

NO BBs FOR BRYON BAKER: Throwing 2 2/3 innings for the second straight series, senior Bryon Baker was another top performer on the mound with five strikeouts and just two hits allowed in Game 3 against the Mavericks. So far this year, the righty has seven strikeouts and no walks with just two hits allowed in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

ROBINSON RACES TO GNAC WEEKLY HONOR: Senior Zach Robinson made it a sweep of the weekly awards for MSUB, after batting 9-for-16 with three doubles and five runs scored in the series against Mesa. The senior is off to a great start, leading the team with a .476 batting average through seven games.

MYERS, LINEBARGER MASH HRs: Making his MSUB debut last week, senior Ryan Myers crushed a pair of home runs in the third game of the series and drove in six total on the weekend.

The powerful first baseman also drew a pair of walks and was hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .545 in the three games he played.

Freshman Max Hartgraves hit his first-career home run last week at Colorado Mesa.

Fellow newcomer Conner Linebarger showed off his power last week, hitting a pair of doubles and a home run in the series. He also made 10 plays at third base without making an error, contributing to improved defense in the Yellowjackets’ second series of the year.

PETERSON CONTINUES TO PRODUCE: After homering in his first series of the year, junior Landon Peterson drove in two more runs with a big double in the second game of the series. From behind the plate, he also threw out two runners, and handled MSUB’s pitching staff in three of the four games. “We needed those guys big time, and both Steen and Sam stepped up,” Peterson commented on catching for the young Yellowjacket pitchers in the series finale. “They didn’t fold under the pressure of being in a big game, and they both know how to compete.”

HARTGRAVES, HALL HIT HOMERS TOO: Freshman shortstop Max Hartgraves and junior catcher Kade Hall joined MSUB’s power surge last week as well. Hartgraves lined his first career home run over the right-field fence in the series opener, drove in three total runs out of the ninth spot in MSUB’s order in the series, and crossed the plate three times as well.

Hall’s first long ball as a Yellowjacket came in a 3-for-5 game with three RBIs to open the series, and he plated another run in the finale with an RBI-double. Four of his eight hits on the season have gone for extra bases.

THE EARLY NUMBERS: After averaging just 3.0 runs per game in its opening series, the Yellowjackets upped their production at the plate and averaged 7.3 per game last week against the Mavericks. On the defensive side, the ‘Jackets went from allowing 8.3 runs per game against Mines to 7.3 last week against CMU. MSUB is batting .261 as a team, and holds a team earned run average of 5.17 with 36 strikeouts against just 24 walks in 54.0 innings.

No. 16 Dixie State University Trailblazers Friday, February 24 | 6 PM | 9-Inning Game Saturday, February 25 | 12 PM | 9-Inning Game Sunday, February 26 | 12 PM | 9-Inning Game 2017 Record: 8-3 Head Coach: Chris Pfatenhauer, 5th Season 2016 Record: 40-14, 26-10 PacWest (2nd) After losing 3 of 4 games to Colorado Mesa, DSU is coming off three straight wins over a pair of GNAC teams last week. The Trailblazers defeated Concordia 17-0 last Thursday, before a 4-2 win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday and a 10-3 triumph over the Saints on Sunday.

DSU started the year with a four-game sweep of Cal State San Bernardino on Feb. 3-5 in California.

Reigning PacWest Player of the Week Ryan Rodriguez is batting .483 through his first 10 games, with three doubles and a pair of home runs for the Blazers. Logan Porter leads the team with a dozen RBIs, and Tyler Mildenberg and Trey Kamachi are close behind with 11 and 10, respectively.

All-conference senior Drew McLaughlin has started his final college season with a bang, hitting .462 with five doubles and eight RBIs over his first 11 games.

On the mound, Mason Hilty is the top returner for DSU, and holds a 3.50 ERA through a team-high 18 innings in his first three starts of the year. Sean Hardman, Tanner Howell, and Jose Rosales-Rodarte have all been stellar out of the bullpen thus far, with none of the three allowing an earned run in a combined 16 innings pitched.

DSU is averaging 8.1 runs per game while allowing just 4.9. The Trailblazers have been excellent defensively, with just 10 errors so far and a team fielding percentage of .976.

The Series: DSU is 18-3 all-time against MSUB, with all 21 contests having been played in Utah. The Trailblazers have won 13 of the last 14 games between the teams.

Last Time Out: DSU won both games last season, defeating the ‘Jackets 8-1 on Feb. 12 and 10-9 in 10 innings on Feb. 14.

Robinson had four hits for MSUB in the finale, and McLaughlin matched the total for DSU. Hilty was the victor in the first meeting, striking out eight ‘Jackets in seven innings with one run allowed on three hits.

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