Yellowjacket baseball 2016 season preview

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, January 29, 2016 Yellowjacket baseball 2016 season preview

MSUB’s baseball team sets out to defend its 2015 GNAC regular-season title, with the 2016 season officially kicking off on Feb. 12 in St. George, Utah.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off of a landmark campaign in 2015, the Montana State University Billings baseball team will set out to defend its Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title this year as the 2016 season kicks off in early February.

The Yellowjackets won 20 of their final 25 games a season ago, starting and ending that stretch with four-game road sweeps that ultimately brought the GNAC Championships to Dehler Park in Billings for the first time ever. The ‘Jackets posted their first winning season since baseball was restored in 2006 with a 27-23 overall record, and snapped a 13-year streak of conference titles for Western Oregon University by winning it on the final day of the regular season with a 2210 GNAC record.

The ‘Jackets will have to replace 2015 GNAC Player of the Year and All-American Brody Miller, who became just the second baseball player ever to win the overall GNAC Male Athlete of the Year award after posting the best individual season in MSUB history.

Matching Miller swing-for-swing was center fielder Luke Reinschmidt, who will carry his status as a 2016 NCBWA preseason All-American into a key leadership role for the ‘Jackets this year. Reinschmidt is one of seven returning seniors who stood out in the GNAC last year, four of which have earned first-team all-conference honors in their careers.

“The biggest thing I see is having seven guys who started regularly last season back,” commented sixth-year head coach and unanimous 2015 GNAC Coach of the Year Rob Bishop. “They understand what it takes to prepare. We are counting on the fact that experience matters in our league, especially with the travel and unique challenges we face here.”

Reinschmidt was a first-team all-region selection by both the NCBWA and Daktronics in 2015, after being selected to the first-team all-GNAC for the second straight year.

A Billings Senior High School graduate, Reinschmidt led MSUB with a .370 batting average and set a new MSUB single-season record for at-bats with 200 while starting all 50 games in center field. Reinschmidt led the GNAC in hits (74), ranked second in runs scored (47), triples (4), RBIs (56), stolen bases (11), and total bases (125), and third in home runs (10), on-base percentage (.457), and slugging percentage (.625). He enters his senior season at MSUB in the top10 in virtually every offensive category in the Yellowjacket record books.

“Luke is our emotional leader, and had one of the best seasons in MSUB history last year,” said Bishop. “The biggest thing we want from Luke this year is just for him to be himself and not try to do too much. He is the ultimate team guy, and the only thing he cares about is helping his team win.”

Senior Center Fielder Luke Reinschmidt.

Surrounding Reinschmidt in the outfield are two more all-GNAC players in juniors Casey Merritt and Myles Berkram, and Miles Community College junior transfer Zach Robinson who will all figure into MSUB’s lineup.

Merritt was a second-team GNAC selection after batting .309 with six doubles and an on-base percentage of .384.

Berkram slotted in as the Yellowjackets’ leadoff batter, and earned honorable mention all-GNAC with a .304 batting average and a team-third best .409 on-base percentage.

“Casey and Myles are similar players, who play really good defense and give us speed at the top and bottom of our order,” Bishop said. “They have both shown stretches where they can hit as well as anyone in the league, and we are really looking for that consistency. Zach played great this fall, and we really feel like we have four starting outfielders. He has fit in perfectly right away.”

Miller is the only key loss from MSUB’s infield, which will be led by a quartet of senior veterans. Shortstop Corey Morris is a 2016 NCBWA preseason first-team all-west region selection, after batting .353 and picking up first-team all-GNAC honors in his first year with the ‘Jackets in 2015. Morris finished the year making just one error in his final 103 chances over 20 games.

“Corey plays the game hard, competes, and hates to lose as much as anyone I have been around,” Bishop said. “He was amazingly consistent down the stretch defensively, and that’s all we want from him. We need a guy like Corey in the infield to model what it’s like to play well.”

Seniors Kyle Durbin, Kevin Toon, and Colter Sternhagen also project as starters in the infield. Durbin batted .275 with three home runs and 30 RBIs in his first year with the ‘Jackets, primarily playing third base a season ago. The left-handed hitter reached base at .373 and added 10 doubles for 13 extra-base hits in 44 games as a junior.

Toon, who earned first-team all-GNAC honors in 2014 as a sophomore, batted .280 and set an MSUB record for fielding percentage in a season at .994 with two errors in 343 chances at first base last year. Toon also ranked second on the team with 31 walks, helping him reach base at a clip of .403.

Splitting time at third base with Durbin was Sternhagen, who batted .273 and drove in 24 runs thanks in large part to 14 doubles. “All three of these guys bring a ton of GNAC game experience, have the ability to make adjustments on the fly, and are capable of having a tremendous year,” Bishop said on his veteran infielders. “Continuing the same theme as the other guys, we really want each of them to just be the best version of themselves. This year it is going to take a group effort, and we have plenty of talent and experience to do that.”

Freshmen Jake McGovern and Alec Leighton will provide further depth in the infield, and both players will earn at bats this season. McGovern is a recent graduate of Billings West High School, where he starred for the Billings Scarlets in American Legion baseball for the last four seasons.

Leighton is a Sparks, Nev., native, where he was a first-team all-league pick at Edward C. Reed High School. McGovern is projected as a first baseman while Leighton will slot in as a middle infielder.

Senior First Baseman Kevin Toon.

“Alec and Jake are two freshmen who I expect to see time in our infield, and both are extremely talented players,” Bishop said. “The only thing missing for them is experience at the GNAC level.

My main expectation is for them to play aggressively and use their individual strengths when they get opportunities to play.”

Perhaps the biggest hit the ‘Jackets will take is in the catching department, where they lost first-team all-GNAC senior Trevor Nix and second-team senior Conner Holbrook. Holbrook ranked fourth on the team with a .343 batting average, and drove in 24 runs in 31 games behind the plate. Nix hit .333 and finished third on the team with four home runs, while driving in 26 and getting on base at a mark of .402. Nix was one of three ‘Jackets to earn NCBWA West Region Player of the Week honors last year, and split time between catching and serving as the designated hitter.

Sophomore Landon Peterson is the top returner behind the plate, seeing action in 13 games as a true freshman last year. Freshman Scott Allison and redshirt freshman Matt Dillon each also figure to compete for innings and handle MSUB’s pitching staff. “All three of these guys have the ability to develop into great catchers,” Bishop said. “Landon is our leader defensively and handles the pitchers very well. All of them are hard workers, and we will figure out a consistent rotation throughout the conference season.”

The leader of the staff the three backstops will receive is senior Tanner Johnson, who is coming off of a first-team allGNAC season in his first year with the ‘Jackets in 2015. Johnson led the squad with a 3.99 earned run average, and struck

out 54 batters while not allowing a home run in 65.1 innings. He tied for second in the league in wins with a 6-1 record, and highlighted his year with a three-hit shutout of Northwest Nazarene on April 25 in a 16-0 win.

“Tanner had a great fall, and he is a definite competitor,” said Bishop. “He is working hard trying to make sure he is prepared to go out there and keep pounding the strike zone and keeping the ball in play. Last year we were fortunate to ease him into a leadership role on the staff, and we are going to need him to be at the front of the rotation this year.”

MSUB’s other key returning arms are senior Lee Busto, junior Cody Cooper, and sophomore Adam Cox. Busto was one of MSUB’s top arms out of the bullpen last year, eating up 32 innings and ranking second in all of the NCAA Division II in appearances with 27. Cox was the Yellowjackets’ closer, earning four saves and striking out 21 batters in 23 innings with a 4.70 ERA. Cooper was primarily used as MSUB’s Game 4 starter, and struck out 46 batters with a 6.15 ERA in 52 2/3 innings pitched. Cooper earned GNAC Player of the Week honors after authoring a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts on the road against Northwest Nazarene on March 21.

Senior Right-Handed Pitcher Tanner Johnson.

program is all about.”

“Adam and Cody are both guys who could start or who we could extend out of the bullpen,” Bishop said. “They both have great stuff and we want to find out how we can have them impact the highest number of games for us. We will use Lee in a similar role as last year, and he will come in and help us get out of jams. He is a great kid and a hard worker, and exemplifies what our

MSUB bid farewell to half of its rotation from last year, including first-team all-GNAC pick Brady Muller, who finished his career as the conference’s all-time leader in games started with 42. Fellow starter Jake Campeau tossed 60 1/3 innings, striking out 41 and walking just 15, and senior reliever Jake Mills threw 53 2/3 innings in 18 appearances as a versatile bullpen arm.

A combination of junior-college transfers Matt Hape and Corbin Smith, and junior Tanner Watson will help fill that void as all three will compete for spots as starters.

“Matt and Corbin are both capable of being effective pitchers in our league, and we like both of them in a longer role whether that be starting or relief,” said Bishop. “They both have the ability to get through the order multiple times, and they have jumped in and become part of our pitching staff right away.”

Watson is entering his fourth year in the program, but missed all of last season with an injury. He had 20 strikeouts in 36.1 innings as a sophomore in 2013, and threw just 5 1/3 innings in 2014 before being injured. “Tanner is another likely starter who missed last year but has good stuff and great competitiveness,” said Bishop. “He is a very talented guy and we are looking forward to him having a very successful last two years here.”

The ‘Jackets have a variety of arms that will provide options out of the bullpen, with senior Dylan Goldsack, redshirt freshmen Jared Winslow and Garrett Baldry, and true freshman Steen Fredrickson on the roster. “All four of these guys have shown flashes of being really good college pitchers, and each of them had a good fall,” Bishop said. “Garrett and

Jared having their redshirt years last year helped them get stronger and work on their game. We like them both coming out of the fall.”

MSUB will play nine nonconference games before starting its 40-game GNAC schedule, with Holy Names University, Dixie State University, and Metro State University among the early-season opponents for the ‘Jackets. MSUB’s first conference series is set for March 4-5 in Ellensburg, Wash., against Central Washington University, and the first home series of the year is against Concordia University (Ore.) from March 19-20 at Dehler Park. All of the Yellowjackets’ home games will feature live video with commentary and live statistics through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

MSUB was picked to finish second in the 2016 preseason coaches’ poll, while Western Oregon was chosen to reclaim the conference title this season.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--