Baseball continues home stand against NNU this week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, March 21, 2017 Baseball continues home stand against NNU this week

MSUB’s baseball team hosts Northwest Nazarene in a four-game series at Dehler Park, running Friday and Saturday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Continuing its home stand this weekend, the Montana State University Billings baseball team will host Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Northwest Nazarene University at Dehler Park.

Doubleheaders between the Yellowjackets and Crusaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and the series will be played in the 9-inning/7-inning format both days. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available online through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

The Yellowjackets (8-13, 6-5 GNAC) are coming off a 3-1 series win over Concordia and have won six of their last eight games overall to climb into third place in the league standings. NNU is 10-10 overall and is in second place in the GNAC with a conference record of 8-4.

“We played clean defense, and threw more strikes this weekend, and we were really good with two-out hitting,” said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. “NNU is going to be a very good hitting team, but that can’t change our mentality as far as attacking the strike zone. Offensively, we just have to continue to put pressure on the defense.”

POWER CLASH: The two offenses meeting at Dehler Park this week are among the most potent in the GNAC, with MSUB leading the league in home runs (18) and ranking second to NNU in both runs scored (104) and RBIs (94). The Crusaders have hit 17 home runs, and scored 109 runs for an average of 5.45 per game.

MERRITT FEATURED ON GNAC INSIDER: Senior leftfielder Casey Merritt will be interviewed live on GNAC Insider Tuesday evening, the weekly radio program of the conference office. Merritt enters the week leading MSUB with a .343 batting average, and has also driven in 10 runs out of the second spot in the team’s batting order.

Merritt is reaching base at a clip of .403, and was a spark for the ‘Jackets with several clutch hits last week. He fittingly came around to score the game-winning run in the series finale, and he’s played errorfree defense in left field in 26 chances.

COX RETURNING TO FORM: Junior designated hitter Adam Cox took a step forward at the plate over the weekend, posting his first two multi-hit games of the year. Cox also drove in three runs and scored three times, while drawing a walk and striking out just once in the series. Overall he is batting .293 with eight RBIs in 13 games.

HALL, GOLDEN HOMER AGAIN: Remaining tied for the team lead in Shortstop Caje Golden hit his team-leading fourth home run home runs, junior Kade Hall and freshman Caje Golden each cleared of the year last weekend. the fence in the first home series of the year. Golden’s came in a big spot in Game 2 of the series, as his three-run shot capped off a fourrun second inning that proved to be the deciding factor in a 10-4 victory. Hall’s fourth of the year also came in the Game 2 win, and was part of a 4-for-4 performance with three runs scored for the GNAC leader in RBIs with 20.

Z-ROB SPEEDS AROUND THE BASES: Entering the week No. 1 in the GNAC with 19 runs scored, senior centerfielder Zach Robinson has been crucial to the team’s success as the leadoff hitter. His on-base percentage of .443 leads the team and ranks No. 7 in the conference, thanks in large part to his conference-leading 15 walks. In addition to his prowess at the plate, Robinson has been impressive with the glove and made a pair of key catches in the series against Concordia. The senior laid out for a diving grab on a sinking line drive in front of him in Game 1, and raced to the fence to track down a deep fly ball in the finale as he crashed gently into the wall. Both catches ended the inning and helped MSUB gain momentum.

GARCIA EMERGING INTO A STARTER: Sophomore Jalen Garcia has worked his way into a starter in the outfield, and is 7for-13 over his last four games at the plate. He is batting .346 in 26 at-bats, and has four doubles, three RBIs, and a pair of stolen bases. “It’s been a transition for me, but so far I am loving every minute of playing in my home town,” Garcia said. “One of the reasons I’m here is that this team is starting a tradition of winning, and we have lots of talent and great coaching.”

FRESHMAN FINISHES GAME IN WALK-OFF FASHION: Freshman catcher Andrew Schleusner was mobbed by his teammates Sunday night, after delivering a walk-off base hit to seal the series win over Concordia. The first year player from Kalispell has driven in four runs in his last three appearances, and threw out a would-be base stealer from behind the plate in Game 1 against Concordia on Sunday.

LINEBARGER A LEADER AT THIRD: Junior third baseman Conner Linebarger was solid defensively in the series against Concordia, and contributed a season-high five assists in the opening game of the series.

He also delivered his second home run of the season in the third game, helping provide a valuable insurance run in the eighth inning of a 6-3 victory.

BAKER NOTCHES SECOND STRAIGHT CG: Coming off GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors last week, senior Bryon Baker tossed his second straight complete game to win the finale against Concordia. The righty has a dozen strikeouts and just three walks in his last two outings, and has allowed just three earned runs over the last 14 innings. Baker’s 1.71 ERA ranks No. 2 in the GNAC, and he remains undefeated at 3-0 on the hill.

STEEN’S STRIKEOUT SCOOP: Putting forth the best outing of his career to date, sophomore Steen Fredrickson was a big factor in the Yellowjackets’ win in the third game of the series. The right-hander had career highs in innings pitched with 4 2/3, strikeouts with five, and total pitches with 91.

He allowed just one hit and no runs to earn his first win of the season.

Freshman catcher Andrew Schleusner lifted MSUB to a win Sunday with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.

COOPER MOVES TO NO. 6 IN GNAC HISTORY: With three strikeouts in his start on Saturday, senior Cody Cooper moved his career total up to 185 and is now tied for No. 6 in GNAC history. He and Baker are tied for the team lead with 21 strikeouts apiece, and Cooper leads the squad with 31 innings pitched.

GNAC Career Strikeout Leaders Rank Name Strikeouts 1 Nick Waechter 269 2 Roger Evenson 246 3 Brady Muller 232 4 Steven Schutte 231 5 Mike Ward 223 6 Mike Eisenhauer 185 Cody Cooper 185 8 Kirk Lind 179 9 Neil Elder 175 10 Spenser Watkins 171

School WOU NNU MSUB NNU WOU WOU MSUB WOU NNU WOU

Seasons 2004-06 2003-05 2012-15 2002-04 2007-08, 2010-11 2007-09 2014-17 2009-12 2000-03 2013-14

WINSLOW A WINNER: Pitching six strong innings in his start in Game 2 of the series, sophomore righty Jared Winslow helped pitch the Yellowjackets to victory. He struck out four and gave up only two runs on four hits, lowering his season ERA to 3.60.

Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders Friday, March 24 – 9-Inning/7-Inning Doubleheader – 1 PM Saturday, March 25 – 9-Inning/7-Inning Doubleheader – 1 PM 2017 Record: 10-11, 8-4 GNAC Head Coach: Rocke Musgraves, 4th Season 2016 Record: 30-21, 23-15 GNAC (T-1st) The reigning GNAC regular-season co-champions and tournament champs head to Billings after winning 3 of 4 against Saint Martin’s University last week in conference play. The Crusaders lost a pair of games to Lewis-Clark State early this week in advance of the series at MSUB. The ‘Saders have a trio of players batting north of .300, and five different players have multiple home runs. Brett Nielsen leads the squad with a .391 batting average, and has seven doubles with a team-best 15 RBIs. Casey Sheehan is another top performer offensively, batting .356 with two home runs and a team-high four stolen bases.

Billy King leads the team with four home runs, and is slugging .542 through his first 19 games of the year.

The Crusaders have been remarkably consistent with their pitching rotation, with four arms starting all but one game this season. Returner Ross Clevenger leads the staff with 27 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched, and holds a team-best 3.38 ERA. Jaramy Jacobs and Dylan Suppan have each also started five games, and Adam Paulson has started four.

In the bullpen, NNU has one of the top closers in the league in Nick Bland. The senior righty has earned a pair of saves in eight appearances, and has 13 strikeouts with a 1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 innings pitched.

The Series: In 80 total games between the teams, each side has won exactly 40, and the teams are 21-21 all-time in games played in Billings. The teams split six conference games last year, and NNU defeated MSUB 4-3 in the GNAC tournament in Nampa, Idaho last May. Last time out: The Crusaders rallied to score three runs in the final two innings in the second game of the GNAC Championships. Cox was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--