Baseball Preview: GNAC Championships start Wednesday in Portland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, May 8, 2017 Baseball Preview: GNAC Championships start Wednesday in Portland

MSUB’s baseball team heads to the GNAC tournament for the third straight season, and will take on No. 1 seed Western Oregon in a first-round matchup Wednesday night under the lights.

BILLINGS, Mont. – For the third straight year, the Montana State University Billings baseball team is headed to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, which begin Wednesday at Porter Park on the campus of Concordia University in Portland, Ore. The Yellowjackets finished the regular season at 22-27 overall and 21-19 in league play to tie for third place in the standings. MSUB is the No. 4 seed in the tournament, and will take on regular-season champion and top seed Western Oregon University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time.

“Offensively we have been pretty sound, and in our pitching staff we have found a few key players here late who have been giving us good innings out of their relief roles,” said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. “We have a lot of guys with confidence going into the tournament, and all of our seniors have been there and know what to expect.”

2017 GNAC Championships Tournament Schedule (All Times Pacific) Wednesday, May 10 Game 1 – 3:30 PM – No. 3 Seed Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 2 Seed Central Washington Game 2 – 7 PM – No. 4 Seed MSU Billings vs. No. 1 Seed Western Oregon Thursday, May 11 Game 3 – 12 PM – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 Game 4 – 3:30 PM – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 Game 5 – 7 PM – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 Friday, May 12 Game 6 – 12 PM – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 Game 7 – 3:30 PM – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary) The double-elimination format tournament will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics available online through GNAC.tv.

ROLLING INTO THE PLAYOFFS: MSUB enters this week’s tournament the hottest team in the league, having won nine of its final 12 games and its final three regular-season series. End of year success has been a trend for the ‘Jackets in each of the last three seasons, as the team is a combined 29-7 in its final 12 games at 9-3 in 2015, 11-1 in 2016, and 9-3 this spring.

MSUB is coming off a 3-1 series win over No. 2 seed Central Washington University last weekend, as the ‘Jackets won twice on Senior Day and evened the season series at 4-4 against the Wildcats. The series win came after a 3-1 road series win at Concordia the week before, and a 3-1 home series win over Saint Martin’s that helped clinch MSUB’s spot in the conference tournament.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: MSUB has appeared in four of the five conference tournaments since its inception in the 2013 season. The Yellowjackets have an all-time record of 1-6 in tournament games, their lone win coming in the opening game against Western Oregon last season.

MSUB Baseball at the GNAC Tournament Season Opponent Result 2016 Western Oregon L, 18-1 2016 Northwest Nazarene L, 4-3 2016 Western Oregon W, 10-2 2015 Western Oregon L, 4-3 2015 Northwest Nazarene L, 8-6 2013 Central Washington L, 3-0 2013 Western Oregon L, 7-0

Seed No. 3 No. 3 No. 3 No. 1 No. 1 No. 3 No. 3

Location Nampa, ID Nampa, ID Nampa, ID Billings, MT Billings, MT Monmouth, OR Monmouth, OR

FAB FOUR: This is the first season that four teams will participate in the conference tournament, which only featured the top-three teams in its first four occurrences from 2013-2016. Next season, when Concordia has completed its provisional membership within the NCAA and becomes a full member, the conference tournament champion will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II West Region playoffs.

COOPER A PROVEN PLAYOFF WINNER: Senior right-hander Cody Cooper will make his final career start at some point during the championship tournament, and it was his 8 1/3 innings in last year’s opening game against the Wolves that spurned the team to its first-ever conference tournament win. Cooper was the winner in his only career playoff appearance to date.

A season later, Cooper is now second in MSUB history and fifth in GNAC history with 230 career strikeouts, and needs just three more to become the Yellowjackets’ all-time leader and to jump to No. 3 in GNAC history. Cooper also ranks No. 8 in GNAC history with 247 2/3 innings pitched, and will make his 51st appearance this week which is third-most in school history.

GNAC Career Strikeout Leaders (as of May 8, 2017) Rank Name Strikeouts School Seasons 1 Nick Waechter 269 WOU 2004-06 2 Roger Evenson 246 NNU 2003-05 3 Brady Muller 232 MSUB 2012-15 4 Steven Schutte 231 NNU 2002-04 5 Cody Cooper 230 MSUB 2014-17 GARCIA FULLY ESTABLISHED AS CORNERSTONE: Sophomore rightfielder Jalen Garcia had a stellar all-around weekend, helping MSUB to a 3-1 series win over Central Washington by hitting .467 at the plate and making numerous highlight-reel plays in right field.

Garcia was 7-for-15 in the series, with a double, two home runs, and a team-high eight RBIs. He also stole a base and scored a team-leading seven runs, while making 15 plays in right field without an error. The timing of Garcia’s production was most important, as his two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the series finale pulled MSUB even at 4-4 in an eventual 5-4 win. The sophomore’s fifth homer of the year came after making one of the top defensive plays of the year in right. Catching a deep fly ball 10 feet in front of the warning track, Garcia unleashed a throw of 250 feet in the air all the way to third base to throw out the runner tagging and trying to advance. His other home run came in the second inning of the opener, a three-run shot amidst a four-run inning that set the early tone in a Cooper defeated WOU in his only career playoff start, 19-11 win for MSUB. Garcia also had a diving catch into the right pitching 8 1/3 innings last season. center gap, and a leaping grab in foul territory as he crashed into the wall and flipped over it. He also drew a walk and had a sacrifice fly, while holding an on-base percentage of .471 and a slugging percentage of .933.

Garcia is now batting .331 on the season, and ranks second on the team with 35 RBIs while slugging .511. He has also been a threat on the bases with nine steals, and has scored 28 runs in 40 games. He was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday.

ROBINSON’S RECORD-BREAKING RUN: Senior Zach Robinson broke the school record for runs in a season last week, as he crossed the plate for the 51st time on Saturday. His runs total is the highest in the GNAC, and he needs just one more stolen base to break the MSUB single-season record of 17 held by Kyle Pryor.

MSUB Single-Season Runs Leaders Rank Name Runs 1 Zach Robinson 51 2 Luke Reinschmidt 50 3 Luke Reinschmidt 47 Brody Miller 47 5 Kyle Durbin 43 6 Kyle Pryor 42 Austin Rue 42 8 Colby Robison 38 Myles Berkram 38 Casey Merritt 38

Season 2017 2016 2015 2015 2016 2007 2013 2013 2015 2017

MYERS TOP OBP MAN: Entering the GNAC Championships with the top on-base percentage in Robinson, MSUB’s single-season runs leader, heads to first after his walk-off single the league is junior Ryan Myers, who is reaching on Saturday against Northwest Nazarene. base at a clip of .473. He leads MSUB with 10 home runs, and is second in the GNAC with a slugging percentage of .613. His 36 RBIs are also the most on the team, and rank tied for fourth most in the conference. The slugger had a huge home run in MSUB’s last appearance at Porter Park, a go-ahead shot to left in the finale that gave the ‘Jackets a 3-1 series win over Concordia two weeks ago.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name Brody Miller Adam Cox Luke Reinschmidt Ryan Myers Drew Fosnes Luke Reinschmidt Brody Miller Luke Reinschmidt Matt Schoonover Colby Robison

SLG 0.670 0.629 0.625 0.621 0.615 0.594 0.591 0.569 0.563 0.551

Season 2015 2016 2015 2017 2013 2016 2014 2014 2007 2013

NOT SHOCKINGLY, TRISTAN HAS ANOTHER GEM: For the second straight week, junior right-hander Myers, one of the most powerful hitters in the GNAC, is fourth in MSUB singleTristan Shockley pitched seven full innings in his season history with a .621 slugging percentage this spring. start, as he helped MSUB win Game 3 of the series.

Shockley logged three strikeouts and just one walk last week, and gave up three runs and 10 hits while throwing a season-high 106 pitches. Shockley has lowered his ERA by more than four full runs over his last four starts, as it currently sits at 4.26 in 31 2/3 innings pitched this year.

GOLDEN TOPS FRESHMAN HR MARK: With his ninth home run of the year in Game 1 of last week’s series, shortstop Caje Golden broke the GNAC record for home runs by a freshman. Dating back to the league’s debut season in 2002, no other freshman had more than eight home runs in a season. Saint Martin’s University slugger Chandler Tracy, who holds

the league’s career home run record with 43, hit eight long balls in his first year as a Saint in 2012. Golden is second on the team in long balls behind Myers, and has driven in 27 runs in his debut collegiate season.

LINEBARGER ENDS REGULAR SEASON STRONGLY AT PLATE: With hits in each of his last six games, junior third baseman Conner Linebarger had a strong end to the regular season and enters the tournament with a batting average of .329. One of Linebarger’s most important hits of the year was the game-winner in the series finale Saturday, as he roped an RBI-single into left center in the bottom of the sixth after Garcia’s game-tying home run.

Linebarger was also on the receiving end of Garcia’s long throw from right, making the catch and taking on hard contact on the slide while staying with the play to get the out.

FREDRICKSON FIRES STRONG OUTING: Steen Fredrickson threw four shutout innings of relief in the series finale against the ‘Cats, entering with a runner in scoring position, four runs already home, and no outs for the Wildcats in the top of the third inning.

He proceeded to cover home and tag out the runner trying to score on a ball that skipped away from his catcher to put a stop to the rally. He then allowed just one hit over the next four innings, striking out three and setting his team up to take the lead at 5-4 with a three-run sixth inning.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS: Nine Yellowjackets who will compete in Senior Casey Merritt is one of nine Yellowjackets with experience this year’s championships have previous experience in the GNAC playing in a GNAC tournament game. tournament, as MSUB will rely on its veteran core for leadership this week. Casey Merritt played in both games at the 2015 tournament, picking up an RBI-single and scoring a pair of runs in the Yellowjackets’ losses. Junior slugger Adam Cox had a huge tournament last year, batting 5-for-10 with two home runs, five RBIs, and a pair of walks. In addition to Cooper’s proven success at the tournament, sophomore Jared Winslow has also thrown at the championships, striking out a pair in 1 2/3 innings against Northwest Nazarene last season.

GNAC Tournament All-Time Results and History Season Champion Location 2013 #1 Western Oregon Monmouth, OR 2014 #2 Central Washington Monmouth, OR 2015 #2 Western Oregon Billings, MT 2016 #1 Northwest Nazarene Nampa, ID 2017 ???

Portland, OR

Other Teams MSUB, CWU SMU, WOU MSUB, NNU MSUB, WOU CWU, MSUB, NNU, WOU

MVP Matt Nylen, WOU Joe Castro, CWU Darrien Moran, WOU Ryan Johnson, NNU ???

Opposing Team Capsules No. 1 Seed Western Oregon University Wolves 2017 Record: 28-15, 27-12 GNAC (1st Place) Season Series vs. MSUB: WOU 7, MSUB 1 | March 4-6 at Portland/Newburg, WOU 4, MSUB 0 | April 14-15 at Billings, WOU 3, MSUB 1 Head Coach: Kellen Walker, 6th Season Offensive Leaders: Justin Wakem, C, .367 Avg., 5 2B, 18 RBI | Nyles Nygaard, 3B, .327 Avg., 14 XBH, 33 RBI | Brock Pradere, OF, .308 Avg., 7 2B, 21 SB Pitching Leaders: Trey Smith, 48.1 IP, 3.54 ERA, 31 K, 3 CG | Brady Miller, 47.0 IP, 3.83 ERA, 48 K, .226 Opp. Avg. | Kade Mechals, 22.2 IP, 1.59 ERA, 37 K, 7 SV Key Moments: The Wolves set the tone on their quest to their 14th GNAC regular season title early, winning their first seven conference games including a sweep of MSUB in early March. WOU had winning streaks of seven and six games in the midst of its conference schedule.

Against the Field: 15-9 Overall | 4-4 vs. CWU | 4-4 vs. NNU | 7-1 vs. MSUB Recent Trends: The Wolves split series against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, and won three games against Saint Martin’s over the last three weeks of the regular season. WOU averaged 9.0 runs in its series against NNU and 8.5 runs in the split with the Wildcats. The team’s most recent game was a 6-3 loss at home against NNU on Friday.

Last Time vs. the ‘Jackets: The Wolves took 3 of 4 games at Dehler Park from April 14-15 to complete the season series win over MSUB. The ‘Jackets led late in both games on Day 1, but WOU rallied in the final few innings twice to complete the doubleheader sweep. Cody Cooper had six strikeouts in a complete-game victory in an 18-2 route, but the Wolves finished strong with an 8-3 series-clinching win behind starter Trey Smith.

Scouting Report: The Wolves pair the highest batting average in the GNAC (.303) with the lowest ERA (4.43) to out-score their opposition on average 6.1-4.6. WOU doesn’t beat teams with power – the squad has just nine home runs and a .396 slugging percentage on the year. However, the Wolves are the only team in the GNAC with an on-base percentage north of .400, and the team’s 54 stolen bases are second in the GNAC only to MSUB’s 65. Trey Smith is a likely candidate to face the ‘Jackets, after giving up just three runs on eight hits and striking out eight in 13 innings pitched against MSUB in two starts this year. WOU is also elite when it comes to late-game situations on the hill, as freshman Kade Mechals has been nearly untouchable with an opponents’ batting average of .173 and a GNAC-high seven saves this spring.

GNAC Tournament History: WOU has won two of the four tournaments, including a victory in Billings two seasons ago.

The Wolves are 3-1 all-time against the ‘Jackets in the tournament.

No. 2 Seed Central Washington University Wildcats 2017 Record: 29-21, 23-17 GNAC (2nd Place) Season Series vs. MSUB: CWU 4, MSUB 4 | March 31-April 1 at Ellensburg, CWU 3, MSUB 1 | May 5-6 at Billings, MSUB 3, CWU 1 Head Coach: Desi Storey, 26th Season Offensive Leaders: Dylan Freyre, 1B, .379 Avg., 5 HR, 32 RBI | Jake Levin, 1B/RHP, .328 Avg., 7 HR, 30 RBI | Conor Plaisance, CF, .327 Avg., 6 HR, 32 RBI Pitching Leaders: Mackenzie Gaul, 70.2 IP, 3.06 ERA, 68 K, 3 CG | Jake Levin, 72.0 IP, 3.38 ERA, 46 K, .249 Opp. Avg. | Griffin Davis, 55.2 IP, 5.17 ERA, 50 K Key Moments: Twelve wins in a four-week period over Concordia University, Saint Martin’s, and MSUB in the middle stretch of the year boosted CWU towards the top of the standings. The Wildcats also had a key 3-1 series win over NNU at home in late April, and were outstanding at home overall with a 15-7 mark in games played in Ellensburg.

Against the Field: 12-12 Overall | 4-4 vs. MSUB | 4-4 vs. NNU | 4-4 vs. WOU Recent Trends: The ‘Cats scored big in their last four series of the year, but wound up going 8-8 after a four-game sweep at Concordia on April 8-9. During the final stretch of the season, CWU averaged 7.8 runs per game and four of its eight losses were by two runs or less.

Last Time vs. the ‘Jackets: MSUB got redemption for a 3-1 series loss in Ellensburg, that featured a pair of walk-off home runs by the ‘Cats. In the final series of the regular season, MSUB took 3 of 4 games including a doubleheader sweep on Senior Day last Saturday. The teams combined for 47 runs on the opening day of the series, with MSUB winning big 1911 before the ‘Cats came alive for an 11-6 win.

Scouting Report: The Wildcats combine the second-highest run total in the league (290) with one of the top pitching duos in Gaul and Levin. CWU isn’t a major threat on the base paths, with the second-fewest steals in the league at 29.

The Wildcats’ 277 hits are the most in the league however, and the team is second behind Western Oregon in team batting average at .294.

GNAC Tournament History: The Wildcats became the first team not named Western Oregon to win a GNAC title, as they rode former GNAC Pitcher of the Year Brandon Williams to the 2014 tournament championship. CWU is making its first conference tournament appearance since its win in Monmouth, Ore., three seasons ago.

No. 3 Seed Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders 2017 Record: 23-27, 21-19 GNAC (T3rd Place) Season Series vs. MSUB: NNU 4, MSUB 4 | March 24-25 at Billings, NNU 2, MSUB 2 | April 7-8 at Nampa, NNU 2, MSUB 2 Head Coach: Rocke Musgraves, 4th Season Offensive Leaders: Billy King, 1B, .319 Avg., 14 HR, 37 RBI | Casey Sheehan, CF, .333 Avg., 7 HR, 21 RBI, 14 SB | Brett Nielsen, DH, .293 Avg., 8 HR, 35 RBI Pitching Leaders: Ross Clevenger, 79.0 IP, 3.99 ERA, 59 K, 2 CG | Jaramy Jacobs, 62.2 IP, 4.74 ERA, 67 K, .248 Opp. Avg. | Brady Baker, 45.2 IP, 3.35 ERA, 40 K, 6 SV Key Moments: NNU started its GNAC schedule 8-4, and had a pair of stretches during the year where it won four straight conference games. The Crusaders’ big series win on the year was a 3-1 triumph at home over Central Washington on March 10-11.

Against the Field: 12-12 Overall | 4-4 vs. CWU | 4-4 vs. MSUB | 4-4 vs. WOU Recent Trends: The ‘Saders had a tough end to the regular season, dropping two of their final three conference series dating back to mid-April. NNU hasn’t won consecutive games since four straight wins against MSUB and Concordia on April 8-15. Closing the year with three straight road series, NNU lost 3-1 at Central Washington, 3-1 at Saint Martin’s, and split four games at Western Oregon last weekend. Known for its potent offense, NNU has scored more than seven runs in a game just twice since April 1.

Last Time vs. the ‘Jackets: The ‘Saders walked off with an 8-7 win in the finale to salvage a split at home on April 8. The ‘Jackets had to rally for five late runs to hold on in Game 2 of the series, after NNU snagged the opener with a five-run eighth inning.

Scouting Report: The Crusaders’ 146 extra-base hits are second only to MSUB’s 154, and the team has the most pop in the league headlined by Billy King’s GNAC-high 14 home runs. The powerful lefty hit three home runs in the series in Billings, including a game-winner off the right-field foul pole in extra innings in the finale. Seasoned veteran Andrew Helmstadter is second in the league with a dozen long balls, and leads the GNAC with 38 RBIs. The four-year starter recently became the 11th player in GNAC history to reach 200 career hits, and he enters the tournament No. 6 in conference history with 129 career RBIs. Adam Paulson had a win in each series against MSUB, including a five-strikeout performance over 6 1/3 innings in which he allowed just three runs in Billings.

GNAC Tournament History: The ‘Saders hoisted the trophy at last year’s conference tournament, beating WOU 9-8 in the title game for their first ever conference crown in baseball. NNU avenged a pair of losses to WOU on championship day in Billings in 2015, and the Crusaders are 4-3 all-time at the conference tournament.

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